Tyler Student Wins Essay Contest on Texas History

A Tyler fourth-grader recently took a peak at a slice of Texas History, and his essay was picked from more than 1,500 entries as the winner. Congrats to Tyler ISD Caldwell Arts Academy's Quinn Boozer!

Quinn is 9 years old and won the 2012 Texas Travels essay contest, sponsored by the Texas General Land Office's Save Texas History Program.

It's one thing to chronologically list historical events and explain them, but Quinn went several steps beyond that. He created a fictitious tale that wove into well-researched facts about life on the frontier. Quinn's entry tells the story of Coronado's quest for gold from his servant's perspective, and how the two survived on very little food and failed to find gold in the end. Bummer!

But it was enough to earn Quinn two round-trip airline tickets for four to San Antonio and hotel accommodations for two nights and complimentary dining, plus tickets to some attractions there.

Big props to Quinn's teacher too - Holly Chilek.