Sophomore wins city-wide literature contest

Sophomore Srila Muthyala won first place in the high school division of the El Paso PTSA Reflections contest’s literature category. To recognize this accomplishment, her International Baccalaureate (IB) Prep English II class hosted a ceremony in the school library on February 1st.

“It’s a celebration of original poetry and academics,” said Jan Bassett, Muthyala’s English II IB Prep teacher. During the event, Muthyala read her poem to the attendees, including Principal Marc Escareno, IB Coordinator Gilbert Andrews, IB Prep English II teacher Jan Bassett and her first period class, and PTSA President Jennifer Ehrlich. Muthyala and her parents were also presented with flowers.

Around 600,000 students participated, yet fewer than 3% of students’ entries continue to the state level. The Texas PTSA Reflections contest’s results will be announced on March 15th.

This year’s theme was Heroes Around Me, an idea which inspired Muthyala to write about the way her teachers have impacted her. 

Muthyala’s award-winning poem, To Whom I’m Indebted To, can be read in full below:

Stubborn

Stubborn beyond all bounds

Refusal to learn, to grow, to thrive

But regardless a guiding hand transforms me

Morphs me into my better self

Not only by teaching,

But training me for the perils of life

And enlightening my mind

Filling it with positivity and hope

Too ignorant to realize

That I held the key

To open an unfathomable trove of luck

For having met such a mentor

Who would brush away

My thoughtless rebukes

And show me a path

To a proper future

A material but also moral success

Then, the realization

I truly am

Lucky