Two Presidential Scholars win essay awards

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Northeast Texas Community College Presidential Scholars Isaac Burris and Morgan Capps both received top awards during the recent meeting of the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA)† in Corpus Christi.

At a session of the Walter Webb Society on March 7, the collegiate auxiliary of the TSHA, Capps won second†place and $300 for her essay on Ma and Pa Ferguson, a Texas gubernatorial couple during the early 20th century.† Isaac Burris won fourth†place and $75 for his essay on the dynamics of Sam Houston?s friendship with his slave, Jeff Hamilton. †NTCC Presidential Scholars thus won two of the four awards for essays for the freshman-sophomore division offered at the state level.

Burris is a recent top graduate of Mount Pleasant High School and Capps was the 2014 Valedictorian at the Jefferson Christian Academy.

"Both Burris and Capps engaged in almost brutal struggles with their subject matter, and both reached their own distinctive level of excellence.† Isaac persevered, writing and re-writing.† Morgan was the conceptualizer, who coined memorable ideas such as ?commensal couple?, and ?symbiotic super-couple?," Dr. Andrew Yox, NTCC Honors Director, said.

NTCC scholars also featured a segment of their new film on Harriet Potter Ames at the Friday Webb session and Kelli Knepp and Miranda Mendoza published a chapter report in the journal†Touchstone.††Cassia Rose, who stars as Harriet in the film presented NTCC?s chapter activities at the meeting, and William Villalobos, the film producer, provided technical backup.

To learn more about Honors Northeast, visit ntcc.edu/honors.