By: Dr. Andrew Yox, NTCC Honors Director
Each spring for the last decade, NTCC’s McGraw-Hill Poster contest has allowed community members and college leaders to test what might be called the “Mozart Hypothesis.” Friends of Honors Northeast and top NTCC students engage in hundreds of scholarly conversations, with each student trying to impress the most judges. Above the din, one wonders: is it possible for freshmen and sophomores, with the right resources, to demonstrate the talents, and ingenuity to go to the brink of the inconceivable? Can they produce works of art and scholarship that benefit the community? Can they even earn while they learn, and advance in scholarship so that they might be placed to receive the best in scholarships?
The jury may be still out on these questions, but there was enough enthusiasm and spirit in the recent 3 May encounter for NTCC Vice President Jonathan McCullough to exclaim—“this has got to be the best poster contest in Texas!” One thing is for sure—the particular dynamic of these contests result from the friends of NTCC’s students, in particular, Jerald and Mary Lou Mowery of Scroggins who have enabled its Texas-sized rewards, the McGraw-Hill Education Corporation, through its representative, Casey Slaght, which has steadily underwritten all the extras involved in the contests now for eleven straight years, and the community judges who have come year after year to mentor and monitor the students.
As they say, “Without Leopold, Amadeus would never have become Mozart.” Could a great teenage composer have emerged without an opportunity structure being created by his father and other adults?
Though a non-honors student, Ken Rhodes, from Diana attained fifth place, the winners again this year were all scholars of Honors Northeast, and its honorary pathways. Winning $400 and a $175 book certificate from McGraw Hill for first place was Olivia Griffin of Pittsburg. She exhibited her first-place-in-Texas, Caldwell-Award winning work on ADA activist Justin Dart. Matthew Chambers, winner of last year’s competition placed second and won $300 with a poster on the preparation of phosphorescent cyclometalated platinum. Hannah Dickson with her Caldwell-Award-winning work on Mount Pleasant’s Hispanics placed third for $200, and Jazmin Garcia, with her work on the influenza pandemic of 1918-19, presented last February at the World History Association of Texas, won $100, coming in fourth.
The response of local judges to the level of student scholarship at NTCC was again very upbeat. “Best ever” again was a common expression. “There was a great deal of energy,” noted Honors Director, Dr. Andrew Yox. “This is the first time that the group competing in the one arena had between them anything near six, state-of-Texas Caldwell Awards, two regional Boe Awards, and five national Phi Theta Kappa coca cola awards.”
Twelve local judges insured that each contestant had at least eight visitations. Contestants with the highest average scores won. Local judges included: sponsors Jerald and Mary Lou Mowery; former A&M Professor, Elaine Beason; former NTCC Professor, Glenda Brogoitti; a former educator from Hughes Springs--Wanda Cockrill; Lisa Ellermann from Region VIII; Beverly Hinson—instructor and NTCC student benefactor; NTCC Trustee Chuck Johns; Greg Holt and Austin Niblett from American National Bank; Rev. Dr. Wayne Renning—a retired Lutheran pastor with an engineering degree; former NTCC Vice President, Jerry Wesson; and Andrea Reyes, a Title V Honors Coordinator, who served as adjudicator, and judge.
Other presenters, who had a work of research viable enough to qualify, included:
Rhylie Anderson of Winnsboro, Courtney Baldwin from Mount Vernon, Madison Blood from Big Sandy, Mercedes Collins from Daingerfield, Hayden Duncan from Pittsburg, Karla Fuentes from Winnsboro, Jacob Lambie from Scroggins, Peyton McClendon from Mount Pleasant, Zach Siemsen from Winnsboro, and Jordan Whelchel from Daingerfield.
