Teenager from Katy Announced as Finalist of Black History Month Essay & Oratory Competition

Most of his life, Katy ISD graduate 18-year-old Joshua Lewis lived in a predominantly white environment, in which predominantly white colleges were constantly talked about around him. Now, he’s setting out to show how HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) don’t deserve the bum rap.

Lewis, a freshman pre-med college student, was recently announced as a top five finalist in Prairie View A&M University’s 5th Annual Essay & Oratory Contest Showcase for Black History Month. The topic of the essay was “Growing Global Citizens at HBCUs.” Lewis wrote about breaking the stereotypes.

“I centered my topic on the constant comments I was told about HBCUs being ‘inferior’ and how the Prairie View A&M University could excel into creating global leaders,” says Lewis. “My family has taught me from a young age to understand others culture before judging them. Writing this essay allowed me to think about all of this and see how I’ve gained a great outlook on globalization through my parents.”

Lewis says his father taught him to focus less on paying a lot for material items and more on traveling. In his lifetime, he has been to 30 out of the 50 states, China, Bahamas, Paris, London, Brazil and Jamaica.

“The purpose of this contest is to give students an opportunity to mature academically and personally,” Joahanne Thomas-Smith, Provost Emerita, professor of educational leadership. “This experience gives students an opportunity to think, research, reflect and find their own voice about a topic and then have the chance to express that in the oratory component. They’re honing their communication skills. The focus is to explore ways institutions can ensure that their graduates possess intercultural competence, because they’re going to work and live in a very complex connected world.”

Lewis will now have the opportunity to present his essay in the oratory contest on Wednesday, February 27, for the chance to win the $2,500 grand prize, $2,000 second place prize or $1,500 third place prize. The cash prizes are made possible from a grant by the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo.

“Many students who attend HBCUs have financial challenges, and the notion that studying abroad is not realistic for them. So, Prairie View A&M University has deliberately thought of ways to generate funding to offset some of the cost of international travel,” says Thomas-Smith.

The contest provides life-skills for the future – not just for the contestants, but their fellow students as well.

“When their peers see others taking that risk, to go before an audience and to compete in this kind of contest, it gives them the courage to say ‘I can do that, too.’ There’s no career you can enter in which at some point you won’t be expected to verbally communicate and influence the feeling and thinking of an audience,” says Thomas-Smith. “In this contest, you can see just how bright, ambitious and articulate our students are. Our students are just amazing!”

Upon graduation, Lewis plans to attend a medical school to gain his MD/PhD degree. He wants to become a plastic surgeon and focus on research centered on the neurological effects of stereotypical slurs in the Black community.

“HBCUs produce productive people,” says Lewis. “Before attending Prairie View, I was constantly labeled as the ‘bad student’ or the ‘trouble maker.’ However, at Prairie View A&M University, the teachers take time with you and want you to become the best student you want to be.”