The City of Houston will award five scholarships to area high school students during the 26th Annual City of Houston Public Service Recognition Week Essay Contest award ceremony.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Five Houston area high school seniors will be rewarded for sharing their two cents — or 500 words ­— about how city of Houston employees could strengthen the city and improve quality of life for residents.

And the city is listening.

Covering topics from infrastructure and public health to homelessness and technology, 150 students submitted 500-word essays to the 26th annual Public Service Recognition Week Essay Contest. The scholarships, ranging from $2,000 to $500, are funded by Cigna.

The top five essays were shared with Mayor Sylvester Turner and department leaders in Houston Public Works, Houston Health Department, Houston Police Department, and Houston Information Technology Services.

Presentations will be made by Vice Mayor Pro Tem Jerry Davis, Human Resources Director Jane E. Cheeks and Paula McHam, account executive for Cigna. Cigna has sponsored the PSRW Essay Scholarship contest for the last five years.

Winners include:

1st Place: $2,000

Kanthi Reddy

Energy Institute High School, Houston Independent School District

Essay title: “Epidemiology and general healthcare in Houston”

2nd Place: $1,200

Michael Lombardi

Manvel High School, Alvin Independent School District

Essay title: “#HoustonStrong – Even stronger”

3rd Place: $800

Ashish Chakraborty

Seven Lakes High School, Katy Independent School District

Essay title: “Purging the pipes: How microbiologists can efficiently detect infectious bacteria in Houston's water”

Honorable Mention: $500

Lacey Singleton

South Early College Institute, Houston Independent School District

Essay title: “Engineering a better Houston”

Honorable Mention: $500

Grace Elphingstone

Stratford High School, Spring Branch Independent School District

Essay title: “Updating database infrastructure with Blockchain”

About Public Service Recognition Week: Celebrated nationwide, Public Service Recognition Week is held during the first full week of May. Public Service Recognition Week provides governments around the nation the vehicle with which to celebrate, recognize and identify the important contributions that public employees offer to this country.

Learn more about the winners and read the winning essays at http://cohemployeenews.com/essay-contest/essay-winners