First Annual Essay Contest with Escuela Superior S.I.P. 

April 29, 2025

In April 2025, IFF sponsored the first annual Santiago Iglesias Pantín Essay Contest at Santiago Iglesias Pantín high school in Ceiba, PR. The goals of the essay contest were to encourage students at the school to learn about Santiago Iglesias Pantín and to engage in reflection on his legacy. The essay question prompt was: "Who was Santiago Iglesias Pantín? And why is his legacy relevant today in politics and labor struggles?" The contest was open to juniors and seniors. Nineteen students submitted essays. The essay winners each received a cash prize. 

The winners were: First place:  Delianie Viera Pierre; Second Place: Danna Feliciano Díaz; Third Place: Jewels L. Mendez; Honorable Mentions were awarded to:  Jean L. Rodriguez Petrovich, Xavier Camacho Morales, Yandell Mercado Valentín and Kevin Frías Quiñones. The winning essays are uploaded below and linked here.

IFF is very grateful to everyone who helped make it happen: Principal Iliannette Perez Solis, teachers Yenisses Gittens and Wilda Muniz Ortiz, and the judges Miriam “Minin” Portela Rodriguez, Manuel “Lin” Iglesias Beléndez, and Luis Iglesias. The judges deserve special gratitude because there was an island-wide blackout while they were grading the essays.

Disclaimer: IFF does not endorse the factual accuracy of any of statements made in the essays, nor does it express any view on the opinions expressed by the students in their essays.