2025-26 Contest Finalists

2025-26 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Essay, Art, Photography & 3D Sculpture/Ceramics Contest Winners

Student winners of the art, essay, photography and 3D sculpture/ceramics contests will be recognized at the 33^rd annual MLK Day Celebration event on January 19, 2026 at Marcus High School.

-Essay-

4th Grade

1. Keria Salama | Timber Creek ES | Erlich
2. Eshaan Chinoy | Liberty ES | Ducote

5th Grade

1. Lena Gronneberg | Timber Creek ES | Gray
2. Niam Dave | Hebron Valley ES | Thompson
3A. Emmi Koda | Ethridge ES | Olson
3B. Aditri Poduri | Independence ES | Lancaster

6th Grade

1. Victoria Alvarado | Forestwood MS | White
2. Aadya Tikkireddi | Shadow Ridge MS | Reinacher
3. Aria Bhatia | Shadow Ridge MS | Reinacher

7th Grade

1. Unhae Cho | Shadow Ridge MS | Reinacher
2. Katherine Ho | Shadow Ridge MS | Reinacher
3. Semi Olajubu | Lamar MS | Bywater

8th Grade

1. Sreshta Koppaka | Downing MS | Rhodes
2. Meryam Mikhail | Forestwood MS | Simon
3. Ruhita Anand | McKamy MS | Clayton

9th Grade

1. Navya Gupta | FMHS9 | Greenlaw
2. Zoya Tapia | HHS9 | Vick
3. Tricia St. John | FMHS9 | Greenlaw

10th Grade

1. Ayushi Patel | Hebron HS | Sheehan
2. Amelie Sykes | Hebron HS | Sheehan
3. Rachna Karakatti | Hebron HS | Friend

11th Grade

1. Trebor Cook | Flower Mound HS | Clements
2. Raymond (Ray) Hicke | Marcus HS | Popp
3. Heloísa Lucia Lago | Lewisville HS | Counts 

12th Grade

1. Sergio Garcia | Lewisville HS | Counts
2. Madison Faria | Flower Mound HS | Lewis
3. Sristi Ulloor | Flower Mound HS | Bleemel

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-Art-

4th Grade

1. Elin Park | Bluebonnet ES | White
2. Jianna Park | Bluebonnet ES | Bausch
3. Darren Xu | Forest Vista ES | Oelkers

5th Grade

1. Michael Giep | Hicks ES | Hale
3. Sachin Thagadur | Independence ES | Lopez

6th Grade

1. Caleb Nicholson | McKamy MS | Thielemans
2. Phoebe Lee | Briarhill MS | McGinnis
3. Tate Xu | Forestwood MS | Shires

7th Grade

1. Regina Du | McKamy MS | Kidd
2. Caleb Hong | McKamy MS | Simonek
3. Kexin Tang | McKamy MS | Tufnell

8th Grade

1. Jua Lee | Lamar MS | Bernard
2. Akshara Avasarala | Lamar MS | Bernard
3. Catherine Kam | Huffines MS | Jane

9th Grade

1. Tae-Heun Lee | FMHS9 | Lawrence
2. Angela Du | FMHS9 | Martin
3. Saanvi Ravi | HHS9 | Ribera

10th Grade

1. Miley Pham | Hebron HS | Jacks
2. Akshata Poduri | Hebron HS | Mennsfield
3. Samia Vallani | Hebron HS | Genuardi

11th Grade

1. Shriya Gajavelly | Flower Mound HS | Lawrence 
2. Jessica Andrews | Hebron HS | Russell
3. Audrey Hong | Flower Mound HS | Soto

12th Grade

1. Noah Kang | Flower Mound HS | Lawrence
2. Daniela Boswell | Flower Mound HS | Kruk
3. Penelope (Penny) Peterson | Flower Mound HS | Lawrence

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-Photography-

Elementary School

1. Ella Palmer (5th Grade) | McAuliffe ES | McDonnie
2. Seraphine Pelikan (5th Grade) | Bridlewood ES | Head
3. Lilly Arcuri (5th Grade) | McAuliffe ES | Cue

Middle School

1. Aashna Shah (7th Grade) | Shadow Ridge MS | Sawers
2. Ira Narayana (7th Grade) | Downing MS | Stroud

High School

1. Gracie Lowe (10th Grade) | Marcus HS | Champion
2. Amazing Burnett (12th Grade) | Marcus HS | Champion
3. Kayla Pollock (12th Grade) | Flower Mound HS | Hynson

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-3D Sculpture/Ceramics-

Elementary School

1. Andrew (Scotty) Werchan (4th Grade) | Hebron Valley ES | Swanson
2. Raon Kim (1st Grade) | Wellington ES | Christy
3. Keria Salama (4th Grade) | Timber Creek ES | Erlich

Middle School

1. Joann Choi (7th Grade) | Arbor Creek MS | Hooten
2. Grace Hill (8th Grade) | Lakeview MS | Fuentes

High School

1. Aileen Ceballos (11th Grade) | Marcus HS | Fletcher
2. Deanna Farr (12th Grade) | Marcus HS | Fletcher
3. Dominique Walters (10th Grade) | Lewisville HS | Shaw

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*Chairman's Prizes* 

Kriv Koduru (4th Grade) | Bridlewood ES | Scott
Ruhita Anand (8th Grade) | McKamy MS | McCloud
Paola Jones (12th Grade) | Marcus HS | Fletcher