2008-2009 Winners - New England Region
The winners of the Being an American Essay Contest have been announced! The top three winners in each region were announced at the Awards Gala on March 31, 2009.
New England Region
 | First Place - Rebecca Wistrom Essex High School, Grade 12 “Integrity requires every citizen to know what their rights are and to defend their own rights and the rights of those around them. It takes a country of people devoted to integrity to see to it that no one is deprived of their constitutional rights.” |
 | Second Place - Libby Tolman Hanover High School, Grade 10 “One of the unfortunate things about justice is that it does not occur by itself; the fundamental American idea that citizens are protected from the seizure of liberty by their government no matter who they are must be advanced and developed by citizens themselves.” |
 | Third Place - Brian Neaves East Greenwich High School, Grade 11 “Everyone deserves an opportunity for the pursuit of happiness, and at the heart of that principle lies education, because without knowledge, it is very difficult for opportunities to succeed.” |
Honorable Mention - Carolyn Kelle Hanover High School "I encourage everyone to persevere towards making their dreams reality. Nothing can be accomplished if we do not try. There is no giving up, no backing down, if one truly perseveres. There is only the product of dreams and hopes, suddenly there, before one's own eyes. America would be nowhere close to what it is today without that civic value we all cherish most: perseverance." |
Honorable Mention - Emma Lamberton Lamberton Homeschool “Throughout America's history, we have honored the need to support the downtrodden. This value is embedded into the very roots of our founding documents and into the hearts of our people. Though the upholding of this ideal has been tested throughout our history to present day, Americans recognize that our country was built upon lifting up the oppressed and that we, because we are Americans, must cherish this value.” |
Honorable Mention - Liana Teixeira West Haven High School “Being an American not only entitles people to equality, but also requires them to treat others as equals. America's increasingly diverse population is producing a more accepting society where people continuously learn to look beyond external features.” |
Honorable Mention - Emmy Callahan ConVal Regional High School “The value of equality is the most important because we cannot say that, as a nation, we value courage, responsibility, respect, moderation or initiative if we cannot all access these values.” |
Honorable Mention - Brook MacDonald East Greewich High School “Equality is the state of being equal in both value and status. The United States declared that each citizen shall be treated the same. Equality does not stand alone; other ideals such as freedom, justice, rights and opportunities, are developed from equality. America strongly values equality not only because of its important role in each citizen's life but because of its influence on other ideals.” |
Honorable Mention - Eisha Lichtenstein Essex High School “Peaceful dissent has made America the special country that it is today, a place of liberty for all people. Yet, as Americans, we cannot simply sit back and be content with the accomplishments of those before us. There is always more work to be done, and as Thomas Jefferson and Susan B. Anthony have shown, all people have the ability to fight for change.” |
Honorable Mention - Timo Green St. Johnsbury Academy “Local activism is perhaps one of the most overlooked civic values because it is so pervasive in society. Human beings have always banded together to solve community problems, whether it was raising a barn or enacting a law” |
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