Aldo Leopold Writing Contest Winners

2026

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

This Year's Essay Topic
​

​Aldo Leopold is most widely known as the author of A Sand County Almanac (1949) in which he articulates his land ethic:  “A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community.  It is wrong when it tends otherwise.” ​

This year's contest features quotations by two environmental writers: Aldo Leopold, who believed that the idea of community should include humans, plants, animals, and the land, and Joy Harjo, an Indigenous writer, musician, and poet, who writes about humankind's connection to land.

​“It's possible to understand the world from studying a leaf. You can comprehend the laws of aerodynamics, mathematics, poetry and biology through the complex beauty of such a perfect structure. It's also possible to travel the whole globe and learn nothing.”
― Joy Harjo, The Woman Who Fell from The Sky: Poems
​
"The last word in ignorance is the [person] who says of an animal or plant, 'What good is it?'"
 ― Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac

Essay Prompt

Using examples from your own experience, write about how we can learn important lessons by paying attention to the natural world. Be sure to reference both quotations in your essay.

2026 AWARDS
​

First Place

Andrew Tan, Grade 6
Chinmayi Sudharsan, Grade 9 
Mya Flores, Grade 11
Evelyn Zapata, Grade 11
​

Honorable ​Mention

Kate Muir, Grade 7
Misha Kassam, Grade 7
Autumn Nguyen, Grade 8 
Kathryn Siirola, Grade 8 
Thieab Shawabkeh, Grade 11
Bria Taylor, Grade 11
​Ginger Carrell, Grade 10
​Khloe Rangel, Grade 9

Award-Winning Students

Click on PHOTO to read student's essay

​​GRADES 6-7

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​FIRST PLACE​​

ANDREW TAN
Grade 6
Camino Real Middle School, Las Cruces
​Teacher: Ashleigh Sandoval

​HONORABLE MENTION

KATE MUIR
Grade 7
Santa Fe Preparatory School, Santa Fe
​Teacher: Sarah Stark

​HONORABLE MENTION

MISHA KASSAM
Grade 7
Albuquerque Academy, Albuquerque​
Teacher: Bonnie Arning

​GRADES 8-9

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​FIRST PLACE 

CHINMAYI SUDHARSAN
Grade 9
McKinley Academy, Gallup
Teacher: Margie Monderin

​HONORABLE MENTION

AUTUMN NGUYEN
Grade 8
Eisenhower Middle School, Albuquerque
Teacher: Anita Warrier

​HONORABLE MENTION

KATHRYN SIIROLA
Grade 8
Eisenhower Middle School, Albuquerque
Teacher: Anita Warrier

​​GRADES 10-12

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FIRST PLACE

MYA FLORES
​Grade 11
Rio Grande High School, Albuquerque
Teacher: Guadalupe Reyes

​HONORABLE MENTION​

Winner of the David E. Stuart Humanitarian Award for Creativity

THIEAB SHAWABKEH
Grade 11
The Academy for Technology and the Classics, Santa Fe
Teacher: Kaleigh Dixson

​HONORABLE MENTION​

BRIA TAYLOR
Grade 11
The Academy for Technology and the Classics, Santa Fe
Teacher: Kaleigh Dixson

​​SPANISH WRITING CONTEST

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FIRST PLACE

Winner of the Estella B. Leopold Memorial Award for Creativity

EVELYN ZAPATA
​Grade 11
Albuquerque High School, Albuquerque
Teacher: Zonia Balasch

​HONORABLE MENTION​

GINGER CARRELL
​Grade 10
Albuquerque High School, Albuquerque
Teacher: Ivonne Orozco Sahi

​HONORABLE MENTION​

KHLOE RANGEL
​Grade 9
Albuquerque High School, Albuquerque
Teacher: Ivonne Orozco Sahi