A new program at UTRGV Harlingen Collegiate High School is making history in its first year, with 11 students heading to a national children's literature competition next month.

Senior Margarita Caballero is one of them. She won first place in a state competition in February and will travel to Oregon for the national competition.

"I’m very excited," Caballero said of the opportunity. "I'm not going to lie, it was a big shock getting to compete. It is our first year."

Caballero’s children's book, "No More Space," follows Sammy, a small space rock searching for where he belongs in the universe. This is the first time Caballero has written and illustrated a complete book.

She explained that she has been into space photography, goes outside in her spare time, uses her telescope, and watches space-related videos.

“I've noticed that for the younger children, a lot of times they don't have books related to science themes. So I incorporated my own interests along with children's literature,” Caballero said.

Caballero also has a passion for books. For the last two years, she has worked part-time at the Harlingen Public Library, but she said she never imagined writing one of her own.

“We were unfamiliar with what the competition would entail as it was our first year, but we were excited, and we're ready to go ahead and get started on building our presentations and working on anything,” Caballero said.

UTRGV Harlingen Collegiate High School Principal Imelda Trevino said the students' experience will help shape future students at the school.

"This is the first year that we've had this on our campus, and we're very excited for the future because the success that we saw is going to bring in more success," Trevino said. "So more kids want to be part of this pathway."

Trevino added that the programs the students are taking are helping shape their future.

"We want to grow our education program," Trevino said. "We need good teachers in our community, and this is one way to do that. It helps kids to get to know each other and develop some relationships."

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