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OMA Announces 2024–25 "If I Were Mayor..." Student Contest Winners

The Oregon Mayors Association (OMA) is proud to announce the winners of the 2024–25 “If I Were Mayor…” Student Contest!

Each year, this contest invites students in grades four through 12 — including those who are home-schooled — to step into their mayor’s shoes and share their boldest, most creative ideas for leading their communities.

Once again, we received an impressive array of thoughtful, inspiring entries. While the competition was tough, a few standout submissions truly captured the spirit of leadership, innovation, and civic engagement.

This year’s winners will receive the following prizes:

First Place: $500
Second Place: $300
Third Place: $100

First-place winners and their families will be honored in person at the OMA Summer Conference, scheduled for August 14-16 in Baker City, where their local mayors and the OMA president will present their awards. Second- and third-place winners will receive their awards in ceremonies hosted by their hometown mayors.

A big congratulations to this year’s winners—and a sincere thank-you to all participating students, mayors, and cities for supporting this inspiring tradition.

Elementary Category – Posters

1^st Place: Lake Oswego: Cara Miles, 4^th grader at Forest Hills Elementary

2^nd Place: Ashland: Nadia McGrady, 5^th grader at Bellview Elementary

3^rd Place: Albany: Alice Wegner, 5^th grader at North Albany Elementary

Middle School Category – Essay

1^st Place: Albany: Ashmi Larson, 8^th grader at Memorial Middle School

2^nd Place: Lake Oswego: Sophia Han, 8^th grader at Lake Oswego Junior High

3^rd Place: Keizer: Collin Vosler, 6^th grader at Whiteaker Middle School

High School Category – Digital Presentations

1^st Place: Chiloquin: Henry Hodgson, 11^th grader, Homeschool

2^nd Place: Oregon City: Justin Evers, 11^th grader at Oregon City High School

3^rd Place: Banks: Leila Stewart, 9^th grader at Banks High School

Congratulations to the Winners!

All the students who made it to the state level did a fantastic job with their presentations, many of which will be on display at the OMA Summer Conference. The winning entries are currently displayed on the OMA webpage.

Contact: Claire Wilson, Project & Affiliates Coordinator – cwilson@orcities.org

Last Updated 5/16/25

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