Sam Houston State University’s College of Education has achieved two major milestones thanks to Alexis Argueta. The English and education double major was the first student to represent the university at the state level during the Texas Association of Future Educators’ annual meeting, followed by her taking third place in the national children’s literature competition at the 41st Annual Teach Tomorrow event.
Her award-winning submission, “Miles and the Magic of Words: Penny the Pencil and Eddie the Eraser to the Rescue!” came from her deep love of reading and writing. The book features hand-drawn illustrations by Argueta herself and is centered on sparking curiosity, creativity and confidence in young learners. Written for a third-grade audience, the characters model teamwork, self-expression and problem-solving throughout the book.
While preparing for the competition, Argueta intently revisited tremendous amounts of early literacy strategies, illustrations that would connect with children and research-proven language approaches to ensure the story felt both engaging and meaningful.
