This university-wide essay competition was inaugurated in 2010-2011 to encourage student research into the artifacts of the Dunham Bible Museum, the Museum of American Architecture and Decorative Arts, and the Museum of Southern History.

Funding for the contest has been generously provided by The Joella and Stewart Morris Foundation and Mr. Isaac Heimbinder.

Join the 2026 “A Piece of the Past” Museum Essay Contest page with ONE CLICK to see rules, suggestions, and the categories for submission and where to upload your entries…upload your essay to the correct museum category, and you may submit up to three entries each year!

Essay Guidelines

Essays should be 1000-1250 words and include research on the artifact using correct MLA or APA format, including sources on an appropriate Works Cited page correctly cited in the chosen format.
Choose one artifact from the university museums. Enter your essay in the appropriate category. Your goal is to discuss the artifact and its historical, cultural, and/or aesthetic significance to the viewer, so the artifact may be fully understood and appreciated.
Instead of a typical MLA listing, on the left hand corner of the first page, please do the following:
  • Instead of your name, put your H Number
  • Instead of a class, put the museum category for your submission
  • For the professor, put your professor or your mentor if you have one
  • Instead of the date, put your word count

Museum essay contest information and submission page

Previous Piece of the Past Award Winners

2025

2025 Piece of the Past Award Winners

Grand Prize Winner

Sarah Benitez Mendoza – Witness to the Exodus: Art of Survival and Resilience

Southern History/American Architecture and Decorative Arts

Claire Wilkerson – 1st place – The Colonel’s Pajamas:The Gustave Cook Collection

Aaron Huegel –  2nd place  – Democratizing Images: The Ferrotype of Four Wilson Daughters

Dunham Bible Museum

Nico Kross  – 1st place – “Jesus the Light of the World”: A Sermon on CanvasNico Kross  - 1st placeQuincey Prickett – 2nd place – Misidentified Torah ScrollQuincey Prickett - 2nd place

Museum of Fine Arts and Contemporary Arts

Ella Ritter – 1st place – A Modern Moses: Echoes of Jewish History in Chagall’s “Exodus” Sam Zeeman, 2nd place – “The Last Judgment” and Life’s True Worth

First/HCU Academy

Blessing Ogudo – 1st place – Sewing Machine 1900: An Exploration of the Treadle Raquel Alvarez Amaya – 2nd place – The Heretical Gospel: The Jefferson Bible

Honorable Mention

Aidan Deleon, Claire Wilkerson, Mason Cala, Savannah Plowman, Matthew Blanchard, Alyz Fisj, Ella Ritter, Valeria Rojas, Scarlett Sisk, Delight Igwilo, Niang Muan, Michael Nri, Salah Lowery, Dre’Anna Janae Spivey, William Aguirre, Esther Stenmetz, Marissa Diaz, Leena Bouchenni, Andrew Castro, Sam Zeeman

2024

2024 Piece of the Past Award Winners

Grand Prize Winner

Leena Bouchenni, “Tyndale’s Last Prayer”

Southern History/American Architecture and Decorative Arts

1st Place – Josiah Carr, “Brick from Pine Slash” 2nd Place – Mason Cala, “Slave Bill of Sale, 1848” Claire Wilkerson, “Artworks of the Household: The Story of Virginia Maxwell”

Dunham Bible Museum

1st Place – Ella Ritter, “Tyndale’s Conquest: A New Testament for All English People” 2nd Place – Corinne Sandifer, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin“

Museum of Fine Arts and Contemporary Arts

1st Place – Abdil Galan-Torres, “Freedom” 2nd Place – Kace Conway, “A Piece of the Best Story Ever Told: Icon of the Entry of Christ into Jerusalem”

Freshman/HCU Academy

1st Place – Dillon Floyd, “A Bedouin Shepherd’s Discovery” 2nd Place – Samantha Ponce de Leon, “The Impact of Epergne”

Honorable Mention

Yaqub Ajisefini, Andrew Beal, Ashley Borges, Mason Cala, Oliver Dickman, Christina Gutierrez, Grant Keiffer, Joshua Larkins, Jayson Mendez, Dario Pantoja, Adrian Ramirez, Victoria Rodriguez, Monica Ruiz, Dre’Anna Janae Spivey, Esther Steinmetz, Peter-Adonai Tita. Toby Tulenko, Kevin Welsh, Sam Zeeman

 

View a list of prior winners