My Hope. My Vote. My Future.
This year’s theme for the Youth Initiative Contest, “My Hope. My Vote. My Future.”, was chosen to inspire young citizens to recognize the important role voting plays in our democracy and ensuring they live in a city, state, and country that embodies their hopes and dreams. Bexar County High School and College Students were encouraged to submit a written piece or artwork that represented what the theme meant to them. This year’s contest included art for the first time and ran from July until October 31.
In its 3rd year, a Youth Contest committee was formed to support and strengthen the Youth Initiative. The committee developed a rubric to ensure that all submissions were scored consistently and without bias. The rubric’s categories included Clarity of Message, Impact, Creativity & Originality, Quality, and Craftsmanship & Organization. All submissions were scored on a 100-point scale using these criteria. Of the 72 submissions scored, 57 came from area high school students and 15 came from students enrolled in a local college/university. The committee received 20 art entries. First, Second and Third Place winners were identified for both high school and college categories. First place winners will be awarded $500. Second and Third place winners will receive $250 and $100. The High School teacher who encouraged our first-place winner will also be awarded $250. Our 3 high school winners had the highest overall scores. You can view all winning submissions
HERE.
Winners will be recognized on January 20, 2024 from 1 to 3 pm at CPS Energy at 500 McCullough Avenue.
The Youth Contest Committee consists of 6 local retired educators and is led by Tina Reck-Guerra. Tina is a retired early childhood teacher and school administrator of 30 years and is now an education consultant. Other members of the committee who also served as the 5 judges are Lisa Hinds, Lesha Dalton, Jean Reynolds, Sara Mongiello, and Lynn Matherne. Lisa is a retired Licensed Specialist in School Psychology (LSSP) and teacher, beginning her career in special education and ending it with gifted and talented students. Lesha currently works as an education consultant after serving in public education for 28 years as a teacher and administrator. Jean is a retired teacher of 29 years. She is currently working with teachers who are getting their alternative teaching certification. Sara has been in education for over 27 years. She spent about 8 of those years in Dual Language leadership in Spanish assessment. Lynn worked in NEISD as a school psychologist in the Department of Special Education and served as the Chief Psychologist in that department before retiring.