“A Piece of the Past” Museum Essay Contest
Prior Winners
2023 Piece of the Past Award Winners
Grand Prize Winners
Josiah Brent Carr – “Symon Patrick’s Paraphrase: A Forgotten Work of Majesty”
Catie Wuensche – “The Old Testament, Translated into Cherokee”
Southern History/American Architecture and Decorative Arts
1st Place – Cameron Morvant
2nd Place – Abgail Jones
Dunham Bible Museum
1st Place – Alyssa Jemela – “A Commitment to Scripture: The Wycliffe English Bible”
2nd Place – Justina Smith – “Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth”
Art Museums
1st Place – Jair Gregorio
2nd Place – Michael Johnican
Freshman/HCU Academy
1st Place – Louis Palacios – The Medical Steel Syringe
2nd Place – Chandler Daniel –
Honorable Mention
William Aguirre Tahia Blackmon Lema Boucheni April F. Conner Charles fletcher Melly Flores Ethan Giwa-McNeil Linnea Hagman Tiffany Hinojosa Abigail Jones Collin Kulesha – Story of the Chinese Bible Ryan Lee Dario A. Pantoja Caelan Quach Drew Russell
2022 Piece of the Past Award Winners
Piece of the Past Winners with Dr. Napper, Sharon Saunders, Lisa Simon, Dr. Stewart Morris, Sue Sloan, and Dr. Robert Sloan
Southern History/American Architecture and Decorative Arts
1st Place ($500) – Tyler Christian Brogan, “David Stone Martin’s Above and Beyond the Call of Duty”
2nd Place ($250) – Robert Walter, “A Lonely Cannonball and the Battle of Galveston”
Dunham Bible Museum
1st Place ($500) – Catie Wuensche, “Hezekiah’s Tunnel: Examining the Siloam Inscription”
2nd Place ($250) – Cameron Morvant, “Medieval and Modern: Illuminating Creation in the St. John’s Bible”
Art Museums
1st Place ($500) – Cole Funston, “Chagall’s Exodus: Biblical and Modern”
2nd Place ($250) – Brandon Yu, “Influencing the Last Judgment”
Freshman/HCU Academy
1st Place ($500) – Lauryl Corrine Brogan, “William Holman Hunt’s Light of the World: Midnight Visitor”
2nd Place ($250) – Lily Clardy,
“When Wax Distracts From Your Impact: The Emma Richardson Cherry Portrait”
Grand Prize Winner
($1500) – Aja Jones, “‘A Credit to My Race’: The Hattie McDaniel Doll and the Boundaries of Black performance”
Honorable Mention
($50) – David Aguilera Brayden G. Byrne Ben Caton Leah Cepeda Tyler Ambrose Dizon Dillon Etter Madison Gamboa Caleb A. Guajardo Noah Hlavinka Viviane Huara Van Mawi Iang Aeriel Kwan Katherine Lazor Veronica Long David Mallory Stephanie Martinez Evelyn Montes Jasmin Nelson Mason Robertson Robeao Ban Santos Cullen J. Spadachene Thi Vu Trinity Walker Julia Wise Leo Yerena
UNIVERSITY MUSEUM ESSAY CONTEST***ALL-TIME EARNINGS LIST***TOP TEN
2021 Piece of the Past Award Winners
Piece of the Past Winners with Dr. & Mrs, Sloan, Lisa Simon, and Dr. Stewart Morris
Southern History/American Architecture and Decorative Arts
1st Place ($500) Maria-Louise Cook, “Admiration Coffee: The Bitter Taste of Southern Hospitality”
2nd Place ($250) Elizabeth Marie Campbell, “A Dress of Freedom: How the Flapper Used Fashion to Take What She Needed and Do What She Wanted”
Dunham Bible Museum
1st Place ($500) Emma Perry, “Medieval Prayer: Studying a French Book of Hours”
2nd Place ($250) Eric James Keller, “The 1516 Genoa Psalter”
Art Museums
1st Place ($500) Justin Okeugo, “Marc Chagall’s Exodus”
2nd Place ($250) Loana Pichardo, “Judgment Day: Frans Franken the Younger’s The Last Judgment”
Perseverance in Times of Great Trial
1st Place ($500) Rebecca S. Rizzotti, “The Eyes of the Blind Shall See: The Braille Bible”
2nd Place ($250) Jaylene F. Ortiz, “Healthcare Amidst Adversity: The Doctor’s Bag”
Freshman/HCU Academy
1st Place ($500) Khanh Nguyen, “The Significance of Cromwell’s Soldiers Pocket Bible”
2nd Place ($250) Erika Garcia Gonzalez, “Freedom Within Quilts: The ‘Flying Geese’ Pattern Quilt, 1861”
Grand Prize Winner
($1500) Hannah Gentry, “The 1855 Daguerreotype: Capturing American History”
Honorable Mention
($50) Oghenemarho Avworo, Sarah Ayala. Angela Mai lei Baltimore, Rebecca Bargainer, Natalie Bennett, Xiaofan Cai, Josiah Carr, Camie Copeland, Julia Davis, Slacna De La Cruz, Eric A.Joseph, Christina Little, Isaiah Williams, Jordan Lockett, Mariana Lopez, Symone A. McClendon, Savion A. Moning, Alice Nong, Annette-Mirabel Offiah, Kayla Perrin, Anissa Sanchez, Liliana L. Segura, Daniel Sinecio, Sahil Swapnesh, Andrew Tran
2020 Winners – 10th Annual Piece of the Past essay Contest
(Since this year’s Awards Event was virtual, due to COVID, there were no photos taken.)
- GRAND PRIZE ($1500)-Hannah Gentry, “The Knightley Family Bible: Faith Throughout the Years” (Dunham Bible Museum)
- SOUTHERN HISTORY/AMERICAN ARCHITECTURE AND DECORATIVE ARTS
- 1st ($500) Colleen Dunne, “The 79th Field Artillery: Christmas Day 1917, Camp Logan”
- 2nd ($250) Andrea Matis, “The Original Timekeeper: The Railroad Clock”
- DUNHAM BIBLE MUSEUM
- 1st ($500) Kalon Corrallo, “Foxe’s Book of Martyrs and the Protestant Reformation”
- 2nd ($250) Michella Taylor, “The Trial of Henry Garnet and Jesuit Equivocation in Early Modern England”
- ART MUSEUMS
- 1st ($500)Sofia Guzman, “Chagall’s Creativity For Change”
- 2nd ($250) Rebecca L. Torres, “The Last Judgment: Tribunal of Penance”
- 1st ($500)Sofia Guzman, “Chagall’s Creativity For Change”
- FRESHMEN/ACADEMY
- 1st ($500) Rebecca S. Rizzotti, “A Threefold Legacy: How Adoniram Judson’s Wives Contributed to the Ministry of the Man Who First Translated the Bible for the Burmese People” (Dunham Bible Museum)
- 2nd ($250) Mary S. Napper, “Die Heilige Bibel: Bach’s Bible” (Dunham Bible Museum)
- 1st ($500) Rebecca S. Rizzotti, “A Threefold Legacy: How Adoniram Judson’s Wives Contributed to the Ministry of the Man Who First Translated the Bible for the Burmese People” (Dunham Bible Museum)
Plus the following Honorable Mention ($50)
Marissa Campisse, Daniel Dicken, Linh Dinh, Alan Omar Garay, Diana Gonzalez, Caroline Gillispie, Hailey Harvey, Daniel Idowu, Michael Knapton, Tieu Phuong Nguyen, Obianuju Favour Onyenso, Brandon Patterson, Renee Peters, Erik Pho, Esther Pouluse, Anissa Sanchez, Jayden Seals, Zeinah Wafi, Kayla Wilson, Alvina Zia
2019 Winners:
2019 winners with mentors, Dr. Sloan. and sponsor Stewart Morris
Grand Prize Winner ($1500):
Victoria Thorpe, “Flooded But Flourishing: The 1869 Map of the City of Houston” (Decorative Arts)
Mrs. Sloan, Victoria Thorpe, Stewart Morris, and Dr. Sloan
Southern History/American Architecture and Decorative Arts
1st ($500) Jennifer Ren, “The Root of the Matter: Oral Care in Texas at the Turn of the 20th Century “ (Southern History)
2nd ($250) Brandon J. Patterson, “Clother in White: The Ku Klux Klan Hood (c. 1920)” (Southern History)
Dunham Bible Museum
1st ($500) Emma Perry, “The Avery Bible: The Hearts of Children to Their Fathers”
2nd ($250) Caleb K. Wong, “Hope Found Through a Book: A Bible in Communist China”
Art Museums
1st ($500) Stacy Smith, “Humanity Marching Forward: David Alfaro Siquetros’ Dancing Woman” (1969)
2nd ($250) Conley Harris, “Van Dyck’s Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness” (Fine Arts Museum)
HCU Academy
1st ($500) Sol Pittman, “Harriet Lane’s Bell” (Southern History)
2nd ($250) Asiyyah Abass, “Indistinct Visions of Divided Wings: Aaron Novak’s Monarch Art” (Get Ready MFA Exhibit 2019, University Academic Center)
Plus: 25 Honorable Mention Awards$50 each
2018 Winners:
A Piece of the Past 2018 Winners, with Stewart Morris and Dr. Robert Sloan
Grand Prize Winner:
Katrina Bolman, “Time Present and Time Past All Present in Time Future: The Russian Icon of the Triumphant Entry of Christ Into Jerusalem” (Fine Arts Museum)
Southern History/American Architecture and Decorative Arts
1st Phillip E. Salazar, “Seminole Doll: The Art of Selling Culture” (Decorative Arts)
2nd Jeremiah T. Holcomb, “The Radio—Waves of Progress: The 1940s Motorola Electric Box Radio” (Southern History)
Dunham Bible Museum
1st Seth Grant, “The Gospel of America’s Russian Apostle: The Gospel of Matthew, 1848, Aleut Translation”
2nd Jacob R. Johnson, “A Link in the Chain: The Pump Organ’s Role in the History of Christian Worship”
Art Museums
1st Kelley McLemore, “Christ’s Crucifixion—An Artist’s Clarion Call: Marc Chagall’s “Esquisse Pour L’Exode” (Fine Arts Museum)
2nd Corrie McCloy, “Christ in Exile: Marc Chagall on Jewish Identity” (Fine Arts Museum)
Freshmen
1st Ngozi Paula Ejim, “She Builds Upon the Mirror: Jenny Fine’s ME” (Contemporary Art Museum)
2nd Rebecca A. Bargainer, “Mapping Houston’s Past: The 1869 Map of the City of Houston” (Decorative Arts Museum)
HCU Academy
1st Gabrielle Thomason, “The Child’s Bible By a Lady of Cincinnati” (Dunham Bible Museum)
2nd Cole O. Reynolds, “’A Well Founded Translation’: Charles Thomson’s Translation of the Bible” (Dunham Bible Museum)
2017 Winners:
Grand Prize Winner:
Corrie McCloy, “American Zouave: Fighting in Style”
Southern History/American Architecture and Decorative Arts
1st Christina Ta, “The Winnebago Indian: A Mysterious Doll and A People We Are Forever Connected to”
2nd Veronica Valle, “Dolls, Art, and Revolution: The Lay Figure Dolls for Jacques-Loui David’s The Coronation of Napoleon”
Dunham Bible Museum
Dunham Bible Museum Award Winners
1st Jonathan Richie, “On the Style and Substance in Fragments of a Greek Manuscript”
2nd Marisa Villarreal, “Clearing the Hurdles: The Gullah Bible of 2005”
Art Museums
1st Emilia Forbau, “Reclaiming the Christianized Jesus: Chagall’s Esquisse Pour L’Exode”
2nd Abigail Sims, “Split Rings: An Exercise in Minimalism, or How I Met Modern Art and Learned to Love It”
Freshman/HCU Academy
1st Alexander Hale, “War of the Boys: The Child’s Zouave Uniform”
2nd Ana Kriletic, “The Bible As A Weapon of Defense: Julia Evelina Smith’s Translated Bible”
2016 Winners
6th Annual “A Piece of the Past” Museum Essay Contest Winners, 2016
2016 Winners:
2016 Winners of the “Piece of the Past” contest, with Stewart Morris in center and Dr. Sloan in background.
Grand Prize Winner:
Jonathan Richie, “The Bodey Oil Lamp: The Illumination of Dating Through Construction and Design”
Southern History/American Architecture and Decorative Arts
1st Cora Cobb, “Reconstruction Era Quilts: Piecing Families Together”
2nd Nathan Cobb, “The Pianola: Profane or Beneficial?”
Dunham Bible Museum
1st Madeline Thorpe, “Justice in the Balance: The Word against the World in Acts and Monuments —An Original Leaf—Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, 1576”
2rd Emil Simon, “The Bible Says What? The Wicked Bible”
Art Museums
1st Allison Thai, “The Marriage At Cana by Marten Pepyn: A Baroque Treatment of Christ’s First Miracle”
2nd Duyen Nguyen, “Francken’s The Last Judgment”
Freshmen
1st Corrie McCloy, “The Realm of the Brownie”
2nd Amber Ontiveros, “The Birth of Modern Medicine”: William Gunnell’s Surgeon’s Set”
HCU Academy
1st Alexander B. Hale, “Surgical Saviors: The Civil War Era Surgeon’s Set”
2nd Sidarth Joshi, “The Minie Ball —The Innovation that Devastated the Confederacy”
2015
Grand Prize Winner
Southern History Museum
1st Colton Michael Roath, “The Colt Revolver and Its Role In American Gun Culture”
2nd Elizabeth Wilkerson, “War Poster: The Home Front Reflected on a Single Printed Page”
American Architecture and Decorative Arts
1st Victoria Simms, “A Piece of the Past: The Kewpie Doll”
2nd Evan Huegel, “In Defense of Dolls: An Argument for the Return of Dolls As Art”
Dunham Bible Museum
1st Jonathan Richie, “Faience Ushabti: The Purpose and Religion of the Egyptian Ushabti”
2nd Kyra Brown, “The Julia Evelina Smith Bible: Changing Society’s Rules—The First Woman to Translate the Bible”
Art Museums
1st Katherine Denise Brown, “Icons—Truth that Transcends Time: Icon of the Entry of Christ Into Jerusalem”
2nd Jeremiah Macha, “English Portraiture and Engraving: The Reynolds Mezzotint Files”
Freshmen
1st Blake Richards, “The Surrender of Galveston and the Battle to Win It Back” (Southern History Museum)
2nd Doris M. Benavides, “Girls Gone Wild: The Flapper Dress” (Southern History Museum)
2014
Winners of the 2014 “A Piece of the Past” museum essay contest were announced March 27, 2014 at a special dinner for participants at the River Oaks Country Club. Essays from the contest can be read here.
Grand Prize Winner
Andrew S. Jimenez, “America’s Heroes: Houston’s WWI Training Camp” (Southern History Museum)
American Architecture and Decorative Arts
- 1st Justin R. Brittain, “Transcending the Toy Box: The Changing Meaning of the Doll”
- 2nd Katie L. Kuhlman, “Always Remembered: A Human Hair Decoration from VictorianTimes”
Dunham Bible Museum
- 1st Nicholas Van Cleve, “The Scroll of Esther: Catharsis on Vellum—A Triumph Celebrated”
- 2nd Hayley DeBolt, “The Making of the King James Bible”
Museum of Southern History
- 1st Kyra Brown, “More Than Just A Mammy: The Story Behind the Historic Academy Award Win of Hattie McDaniel”
- 2nd Dayna C. Patterson, “Violence and Hate Without Reason”: A Ku Klux Klan Hood of the 1920s”
Fine Arts Museum and Contemporary Art Gallery
- 1st Tia Lee Wettman, “Chagall’s Symbolism: Esquisse Pour L’Exode”
- 2nd Nathan Cobb, “The Matterhorn: A Spirit of Adventure”
Freshman Category
- 1st Elizabeth J. Shecterle, “A Different Kind of Surgery: A Civil War Era Surgeon’s Set”
- 2nd Samuel J. DeForke, “The Model 1842 Percussion Pistol – Its Time in History”
2013
Museum of Decorative Arts
- 1st : Cody Pepper, “Schoenhut’s Circus: A Step into the Imagination”
- 2nd : Gloria Alfaro “From Vignette to Canvas: The Coronation of Josephine by Napoleon”
Dunham Bible Museum
- 1st : Nicholas Van Cleve, “Siloam Inscription: An Ancient Architectural Feat & Biblical Verification”
- 2nd : Bethany Lindell, “May This Keep You Safe From Harm’: Captain James Scott Cumming’s New Testament Heart-Shield Bible”
Museum of Southern History
- 1st : Ethan D. Lawrence, “Saving Lives through Brutality: Surgeon’s Set—Civil War Era”
- 2nd (tie) : Jacqueline Lawrence, “’Symbol on the Waves’: Model of the CSS Alabama”
- 2nd (tie) : Andrew S. Jimenez, “I’m Proud of You Folks Too!’: A World War II Poster”
Freshman Category
- 1st : Andrew Jimenez, “I’m Proud of You Folks Too!’: A World War II Poster”
- 2nd : Emily Araco, “Southern Pocket Pistol: The Derringer Pistol”
Honorable Mention
- Joshua Christopher Jones, “Ethiopian Psalter: The Illuminated Manuscript and Genuine Devotion” (Dunham)
- Agbasoga Ojirika, “The Benjamin Franklin Family Stool: Genuine Faith Is Never Overcome” (Dunham)
- Rebecca McFarland, “The Mistake: The ‘Wicked’ Bible” (Dunham)
- Mayra Herrera, “The Great Bible: King Henry VIII’s New Bible” (Dunham)
- Lauren Gabrielle Bourn, “Book of Hours: An Ancient Devotional” (Dunham)
- Cody Pepper, “Full Circle: The McLean Home’s Role in the American Civil War” (Southern)
- Julia Burns, “The Two Portraits of Jean Baptist and Elizabeth Chumar Fiquet” (Southern)
- Lauren Gabrielle Bourn, “Manicure Set: Polish Up on Manicure History” (Southern)
2012
Dunham Bible Museum
1st place, Nicholas van Cleve, “A Story of Remarkable Recovery”
2nd place, Andrew Adler, “The Initiative of John Eliot in the Translation and Printing of the Algonquian Bible “
2011
Dunham Bible Museum
1st place, Nicholas Mario Bruno, “Matthew Carey’s Douay-Rheims Bible”
2nd place, Andrew Adler, “Adoniram Judson’s Burmese Bible: A Product of Intellect, Passion, and Providence”