The Real News Louisiana

NATCHITOCHES – Northwestern State University is sponsoring two high school contests this year. In addition to the NSU Louisiana High School Essay Contest, now in its 18th year, the university will also sponsor the NSU Louisiana High School Creative Expressions Contest. Both contests are now open for submissions until June 1. The contests are open to all Louisiana students in grades 9-12 regardless of type of school institution, including students in all types of private educational environments, as well as home schooled students. 

The 2026 theme for both contests is “Remembering Louisiana.” The 2026 NSU Louisiana High School Creative Expressions Contest is an opportunity for Louisiana students to display their talents at interpreting Louisiana through photography. Entrants are invited to submit up to three photographs inspired by and taken in Louisiana. Each photo entry should have a title and an accompanying page or two of writing by the student; this writing should explain the significance of the subject of the photograph to the theme of Remembering Louisiana, as well as the student’s connection to that subject. Photos need not be shot on professional equipment. For example, photos taken on cell phones are acceptable. Photos should be submitted as individual image files such as jpegs. The accompanying writing(s) should be submitted in standard Microsoft Word files. 

2026 NSU Louisiana High School Essay Contest entrants are invited to address one of the following prompts: Interview any member of your family or surrounding community as long as your interviewee is at least one generation older than yourself, such as, for example, your parent or guardian. What does this person feel is the most significant historical event or societal change they have experienced over their lifetime? Personal reflections and experiences are valid as part of the essay content. Essays may be in narrative form if the student chooses. The second option is if you could meet and talk with any Louisianan from the past, present or future for one hour, who would you choose and why? Personal reflections and experiences are valid as part of the essay content. Essays addressing either prompt may be in narrative form if the student chooses. 

Entries to either contest should include a cover sheet with the student’s name, mailing address, phone number and e-mail address, school affiliation, and the title of their entry. Entries to both contests may be mailed to the Louisiana Folklife Center, NSU Box 5688, Natchitoches, LA 71497. Creative Expressions Contest entries may be sent via e-mail to Dr. Rebecca Macijeski, macijeskir@nsula.edu with the subject line “2026 NSU Louisiana High School Creative Expressions Contest.” Essay Contest entries may be sent via e-mail to Dr. Shane Rasmussen, rasmussens@nsula.edu, with the subject line “2026 NSU Louisiana High School Essay Contest.” The deadline for contest submissions is June 1. Prize-winning students will be notified by July 15. 

The top three winners of both contests will be awarded both cash prizes and a $200/per semester NSU scholarship with a value up to $1,600 if they attend NSU for four years (these NSU scholarship awards are in addition to other scholarship awards that the student may receive from Northwestern State). Winning entries of both contests will be published in the Louisiana Folklife Journal, an academic journal produced by the Louisiana Folklife Center. Contest winners will be invited to share their entries with attendees at the 18th annual Louisiana Studies Conference to be held on the NSU campus on Saturday, Sept. 12. 

The winning entries will also be published in the Louisiana Folklife Journal. Submission of an entry to the Contest entails granting permission to publish their entry in the Louisiana Folklife Journal. Entries may be subject to minor revision prior to publication. By entering the contest, students acknowledge that they also grant permission for their photos to be used in future promotional materials (posters, covers of programs, etc.) in association with the Louisiana Folklife Center. Additional information is available on the website for the Louisiana Folklife Center at Northwestern State at https://www.nsula.edu/folklife/highschoolessay/. 

The contests are sponsored by the Louisiana Folklife Center, the Department of English, Languages, and Cultural Studies, the Office of Financial Aid, and the Office of Recruiting at Northwestern State.