News: High School Students and Teachers Honored

Published: Friday, April 3 2009 04:52:46 AM

For Immediate Release

Contact: Rachel Bezanson (703) 894-1776, ext. 25

WASHINGTON, D.C.—High school students and teachers from across the country are being honored tonight at a Washington, D.C. gala for winning the national Being an American Essay Contest, the Bill of Rights Institute announced today.
During the gala, which features keynote speaker Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, first, second and third place winners from across nine regions will be announced and awarded nearly $200,000 in cash prizes. The twenty-seven winning students and their teachers are in Washington, D.C., because their essays were chosen as top prize winners from over 31,000 participants.
The gala is the culmination of a multi-day Awards Program in Washington, D.C. where the students and teachers were treated to a Capitol Hill reception with federal legislators, a breakfast with Pro Football Hall of Fame Cornerback Darrell Green, who served as Chair of President George W. Bush’s Council on Service and Civic Participation, and visits to the National Archives and the Supreme Court.

The contest and Awards Program are both intended to stimulate and expand the national dialogue on what it means to be an American in today’s society. To date, nearly 50,000 students have participated and more than $300,000 has been awarded to teachers and students nationwide.

“We hope the essay contest and gala will help celebrate what makes our country great, its unique system of government, and the opportunities it provides to its citizens – and refocus the next generation of leaders on what it means to ‘be an American,’” said Bill of Rights Institute President Victoria Hughes.

Launched in 2006, the annual essay contest is sponsored by the Bill of Rights Institute, a nonprofit educational organization, and supported by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation. Additional sponsors include the History Channel; State Farm Insurance; Jack Miller Family Foundation; McGuireWoods, LLP; and the Stuart Family Foundation.

Student and Teacher placements and information are included below. Copies of winning essays and photographs of students are available by request.

More information on the Being an American Essay Contest can be found at http://www.BeingAnAmerican.org.

REGIONAL WINNERS INFORMATION FOR 2008-2009 CONTEST:
East North Central Region:
Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin

• 1st Place: David Baker, Cornerstone High School, Bexley, OH
  Teacher: Shannon Baker
• 2nd Place: Roberta Vander Boon, Plymouth Christian High School, Grand Rapids, MI
  Teacher: Kevin Mulder
• 3rd Place: Rachel Webb, Thomas Worthington High School, Worthington, OH
  Teacher: Mark McCort

• 1st Place: Zach Franklin, Franklin Home School, Emmalena, KY
  Teacher: Catherine Franklin
• 2nd Place: Grant Schumacher, Woodford County High School, Versailles, KY
  Teacher: Terri Morford
• 3rd Place: Julia Steffen, Bishop Brossart High School, Alexandria, KY
  Teacher: Diana Muehlenkamp

Mid-Atlantic Region:
New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania

• 1st Place: Katelyn Stauffer, Ephrata Senior High School, Ephrata, PA
  Teacher: Wendolen Mellinger
• 2nd Place: Connor Weis, Fox Chapel Area High School, Pittsburgh, PA
  Teacher: Jennifer Klein
• 3rd Place: Cassandra Hartt, Burnt Hills Ballston Lake High School, Burnt Hills, NY
  Teacher: Karen Ferris-Fearnside

Mountain Region:
Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming

• 1st Place: Sapphire Feltner, Home School, Cheyenne, WY
  Teacher: Carrie Feltner
• 2nd Place: Sharisa Nay, Spanish Fork High School, Spanish Fork, UT
  Teacher: Mary Anne Hillier
• 3rd Place: Jordan Shepherd, Northpoint Expeditionary Learning Academy, Prescott, AZ
  Teacher: Sidney Shepherd

New England Region:
Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont

• 1st Place: Rebecca Wistrom, Essex High School, Essex Jct., VT
  Teacher: Timothy Root
• 2nd Place: Libby Tolman, Hanover High School, Hanover, NH
  Teacher: Pamala Miller
• 3rd Place: Brian Neaves, East Greenwich High School, Greenwich, RI
  Teacher: ChristineShaw

Pacific Region:
Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, US Territories

• 1st Place: Peter Hadar, Kehillah Jewish High School, Palo Alto, CA
  Teacher: Sam Patterson
• 2nd Place: Ashwin Aravind, Irvington High School, Fremont, CA
  Teacher: Cheryl Cook-Kallio
• 3rd Place: Catherine Bevens, Friday Harbor High School, Friday Harbor, WA
  Teacher:GregorySawyer

• 1st Place: Pierce Hansen, Fresta Valley Christian School, Marshall, VA
  Teacher: Lisa Hailey
• 2nd Place: Eric Keen, Hempstead Academy, Bethesda, MD
  Teacher: Christine Keen
• 3rd Place: Elena Perry, Richard Montgomery High School, Rockville, MD
  Teacher: Davina Smith

West North Central Region:
Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota

• 1st Place: Jackson Sittenauer, Hayden High School, Topeka, KS
  Teacher: Douglas Roach
• 2nd Place: Laura Nelson, St. Thomas More High School, Rapid City, SD
  Teacher: Jeannine Gibson
• 3rd Place: Rachel Geinert, Edgeley High School, Nortonville, ND
  Teacher: MelissaEntzi

West South Central Region:
Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas

• 1st Place: Angela Stevens, Christian Liberty Academy, San Antonio, TX
  Teacher: Darline Stevens
• 2nd Place: Katherine Thayer, McNeil High School, Austin, TX
  Teacher: Craig Studer
• 3rd Place: Grant McClure, McCallum High School, Austin, TX
  Teacher: Jim Furgeson

SPONSORING ORGANIZATION: Bill of Rights Institute, Arlington, VA

The Bill of Rights Institute, founded in 1999, is a nonprofit educational organization. The mission of the Bill of Rights Institute is to educate young people about the words and ideas of America's Founders, the liberties guaranteed in our Founding documents, and how our Founding principles continue to affect and shape a free society.

CONTEST GOAL: To explore the rights and responsibilities of citizenship and the civic values that unite us as Americans.

ESSAY QUESTION: “What civic value do you believe is most essential to being an American?”

STUDENTS ELIGIBLE: Students in grades 9-12 who are U.S. citizens or legal residents and are either attending public, private, religious, or charter schools, being home-schooled, or participating in a GED or correspondence school program but are no older than 19 years of age.

JUDGES: High school teachers

CASH PRIZES: Ten equal cash awards for students and teachers in each region:
• First Prize: $5,000 each
• Second Prize: $2,500 each
• Third Prize: $1,250 each
• Seven Honorable Mentions: $250 each

WEB SITE AND CONTEST GUIDELINES: http://www.BeingAnAmerican.org