Contributed photo: GHS Student, Sarah D’Oliveira.
Nine students from Greenwich High School (GHS) won local, state and national essay contest awards this year.
The students participated in the essay contests as part of the We The People: The Citizen and the Constitution, Honors Civics, and AP Government and Comparative Politics coursesat GHS with teachers Aaron Hull and Megan Roby.
“The outside juried process of the essay competitions gives the students an opportunity to engage in multiple modalities of the Vision of the Graduate – pose and pursue substantive questions; communicate effectively for a given purpose; critically interpret, evaluate and synthesize information; and advocate for ideas, causes and actions – to name a few,” Aaron Hull said. “The advantages of engaging, through research and writing, with members of the community locally and nationally are profound. I am incredibly proud of our students who take on these challenges to hone their analytical abilities and improve their writing and communication skills.”
The students, the essay contests that they participated in and the resulting placements are as follows and are presented based on the photograph included, (Photo credit: GHS Student, Sarah D’Oliveira.) as follows:
Annika Bjerke– University of Connecticut Martin Luther King Jr. Essay Contest, first place (2nd year in a row); Town of Greenwich Affirmative Action Advisory Committee Essay Contest, Honorable Mention
Valentina Ruiz-Jimenez- Civics First Constitution Day Essay Contest, second place; Town of Greenwich Affirmative Action Advisory Committee Essay Contest, First Place
Kiana Comizio- Connecticut Foundation for Open Government Essay Contest, third place
Lindsay Pecora- Connecticut Foundation for Open Government Essay Contest, Honorable Mention
Natalie Wallington– Connecticut Bar Foundation James W. Cooper Fellows 2013-2014 Quintin Johnstone Essay Contest, First Runner-Up (Megan Roby, contest coordinator)
Carmen Collins– The Constitutional Walking Tour Essay Contest, National First Place Winner, High School
Uma Ramesh- Civics First Constitution Day Essay Contest, first place
Spencer Matonis- University of Connecticut Martin Luther King Jr. Essay Contest, first place; United States Institute for Peace Essay Contest, Honorable Mention, State of Connecticut
Aaron Hull- Greenwich High School We The People and Honors Civics teacher
Colleen Bennett- Connecticut Bar Foundation James W. Cooper Fellows 2013-2014 Quintin Johnstone Essay Contest, First Place; Civics First Constitution Day Essay Contest, third place