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Aldo Leopold Writing Contest Winners

2023

​Scroll down to view student photos and read their winning essays!

This Year's Essay Topic

Please consider the quotes below, and then respond to the ESSAY PROMPT that follows.
​
​​In “Returning the Gift,” Robin Wall Kimmerer writes:
We are showered every day with the gifts of the Earth, gifts we have neither earned nor paid for:  air to breathe, nurturing rain, black soil, berries and honeybees, the tree that became this page, a bag of rice and the exuberance of a field of goldenrod and asters at full bloom.... . Though the Earth provides us with all that we need, we have created a consumption-driven economy that asks,  “What more can we take from the Earth?" and almost never, “What does the Earth ask of us in return?”
​

​​Aldo Leopold, in his foreword to A Sand County Almanac, writes:
We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.

Essay Prompt

After reflecting on Kimmerer’s and Leopold’s thoughts about our relationship to the land, what do you see as your role in returning the Earth’s gifts?

2023 AWARDS
​

First Place

Alessandra Seawright, Grade 6 
Frances Anderson, Grade 8 
​Bodhi Lewis, Grade 10
​

Honorable ​Mention

​Aliana Hardy, Grade 7
Evelyn Lemon, Grade 6 
Maiya Brock, Grade 9 
Mary Helen Brown, Grade 9 
Sofia Alexandrescu, Grade 11
​Madeline Hostetler, Grade 11

Award-Winning Students

Click on PHOTO to read student's essay
​​GRADES 6-7

FIRST PLACE
Picture
ALESSANDRA SEAWRIGHT
Grade 6
La Mariposa Montessori School, Santa Fe
​Teacher: Katrina Holder​

​HONORABLE MENTION
Picture
ALIANA HARDY
Grade 7
Native American Community Academy,  ABQ
​​Teacher: Morgan Barraza

​HONORABLE MENTION
Picture
EVELYN LEMON
Grade 6
​La Mariposa Montessori School​, Santa Fe
​​Teacher: Katrina Holder
​GRADES 8-9

FIRST PLACE
Winner of the David E. Stuart Humanitarian Award for Special Merit
​
Picture
FRANCES ANDERSON
Grade 8
Santa Fe Girls' School, Santa Fe
Teacher: Olivia Carril​


​HONORABLE MENTION
Picture
MAIYA BROCK
Grade 9
New Mexico School for the Arts, Santa Fe
Teacher: Rachel Mabe

​HONORABLE MENTION
Picture
MARY HELEN BROWN
Grade 9
Rehoboth Christian High School, Rehoboth
​Teacher: DeLyssa Begay
​​GRADES 10-12

FIRST PLACE
Picture
BODHI LEWIS
​
Grade 10

Mandela International Magnet School, Santa Fe
Teacher: Sairey Pickering​


​HONORABLE MENTION
Picture
SOFIA ALEXANDRESCU
Grade 11

Santa Fe Preparatory School, Santa Fe
Teacher: Drew Walker​


​HONORABLE MENTION
Picture
MADELINE HOSTETLER
Grade 11
Rio Rancho High School, Rio Rancho
Teacher: Jennifer Miyashiro​

LEOPOLD WRITING PROGRAM
P.O. Box 40122  |  Albuquerque, NM 87196
505.265.8713 
LWP is a 501(c)3 organization​

CONTACT LEOPOLD WRITING PROGRAM
  • Home
  • Our Programs
    • Writing Contest >
      • 2023 Writing Contest
      • Previous Winners
    • Residency
    • Annual Lecture >
      • Lecture Sponsorship
    • EL PINON Newsletter
    • Job Opportunity
  • Writing the Wild
  • ABOUT
    • Aldo Leopold
    • Board of Directors
    • Advisory Council
  • Contact Us
  • Contribute