Las Cruces teacher, student win state DAR awards

A Las Cruces American history teacher and a 10^th-grade student received first-place state honors from the New Mexico Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) at the DAR’s state convention in April.

The Doña Ana Chapter of DAR chose Las Cruces High School teacher Claire Trevino as its outstanding American history teacher of the year and the essay by Arrowhead Park Early College High School student Joshua Rodriguez as the first-place choice in for high school essay, DAR said in a news release. Winners of the local distinctions automatically proceeded to the state competition, where both received top honors, DAR said. They will now compete at the national level.

Trevino and Rodriguez each received cash prizes from both the local and state DAR organizations.

Also being honored by the DAR county chapter were DAR Good Citizen Award winners Richard Del Plain of Arrowhead Park Medical Academy, Lauren Ocampo of Centennial High School, Morgan Watenpaugh of Las Cruces High School, Talissa Perea of Mayfield High School, Amanita Glover of Organ Mountain High School and Harley Renteria of Early College High School in Deming, DAR said.

Las Cruces middle school American history essay winners include Aviendha Kreger, a sixth grader, and Troy Ainsworth, an eighth grader, at Mesilla Valley Leadership Academy, the county chapter said.

The theme of this year’s essay contest for grades 9-12 was Patriots of the American Revolution, DAR said. DAR chose the theme in preparation for the 250^th anniversary of the nation’s founding. Students were asked to select a figure from the era of the American Revolution and discuss how he or she influenced the course of the American Revolution and contribution to the founding of a new nation.

The American History Essay Contest for grades five-eight asked students to contemplate the second Continental Congress, which included delegates from all 13 original colonies, DAR said. Students were to imagine that they were a delegate from a specific colony and describe what was important to accomplish.

The DAR Good Citizen Award and Scholarship Contest, created in 1934, is intended to encourage and reward the qualities of good citizenship, including dependability, service, leadership and patriotism, DAR said. Student winners are selected by their schools because they demonstrate these qualities to an outstanding degree. The contests are open to students in public, private and parochial schools and to registered home-study programs.     

DAR is a lineage-based service organization for women who are directly descended from a person involved in the United States' independence from Great Britain. A nonpolitical, nonprofit group, DAR promotes historic preservation, education and patriotism. Membership is open to any woman, regardless of race, religion or ethnic background, who can prove lineage to the American Revolution.

For more information, visit Dona Ana Chapter, NSDAR, Las Cruces NM on Facebook.