District News

Nevaeh Dowd, a Waco High School sophomore, was a finalist and named an honorable mention for her short story, “The Silver Fields,” in the 2025 I Am Texas writing and art contest hosted by The Bryan Museum in Galveston. 

Dowd said her love for writing began in third grade when she decided to practice her handwriting skills. From handwriting to journaling, Dowd said during her freshman year in high school, she began writing to relieve some of the stress of starting high school. 

Dowd started sharing her writing with others, and she was thrilled when she received compliments and encouragement on her writing ability. 

“I know personal feelings can be really scary to put out into the real world,” Dowd said. “I want to share my stories so that people can know that they have somebody to relate to, to know that they’re not alone.”

More than just an outlet, Dowd said that as she shared her writing, she discovered that other people connected with her through her written stories. 

“I love sharing that type of stuff with other people, and making people feel comfortable, and you know, feel open, feel welcome… and that’s why writing is my thing now,” Dowd said. “It’s so much easier to communicate your feelings on a piece of paper than to talk face-to-face because some people struggle to have a conversation.” 

Knowing her writing well, Dowd’s teacher encouraged her to enter the 2025 I Am Texas writing and art contest. Dowd’s challenge was to find a piece of artwork or an artifact in the museum’s gallery and write a story about it. She chose a silver tea cup set on which to base her story. 

“My idea was to write about a girl who wanted to escape from the world she was living in and rewrite her story,” Dowd said. “She lived in New York, but really wanted to go to Texas.” 

When Dowd saw the tea set in the museum, she dreamt up a story in which the main character’s grandmother, who kept the set as a memento from Texas, handed it down to her granddaughter. The grandmother always wanted to go to Texas and never made it, so she encouraged her granddaughter to follow her dreams.

Once inspired, Dowd started molding her story like she would an art piece. She said her editing process was like making ‘happy mistakes’ until she made it to her final version.

Dowd shared an excerpt from her story:

 

Dear Diary, I’m Rowan Baker. My dream is to go to Texas, where the valley is green and so much is unknown. I’ve heard so much about Texas - how hot it is, how you can see the cows from every corner, or how the smell inside of bluebonnets never seem to end, how the sun beams down on the water, making it seem like the fish are living in a sparkling paradise. Who knows if that’s all true though? I’ve never been to Texas before. My grandmother who passed when I was five has been there. She’s given me her silver tea set that she said would guide me to Texas. I don’t know what she meant by that, but I have a good feeling.

 

Thinking it was a long shot when she saw how many people she was up against in the competition, Dowd was thrilled to hear she was a finalist. 

“I will be history! That was so exciting to hear! It’s like a historical thing,” Dowd said. “I’m so excited! I’m so happy!”

Dowd’s work is on display at The Bryan Museum in Galveston until November 23, 2025, and will be published in the 2025 I Am Texas Historian’s Journal, which will become part of the museum’s permanent library collection. All finalists and their families are invited to The Bryan Museum on Sunday, November 23, where student artists and writers will be honored at a special I Am Texas reception.

To hear more about Nevaeh’s story, watch this video.