Deaf and Hard of Hearing Teens Honor Their Heroes
in Gallaudet’s National Essay Contest
Congratulations to the winners and participants of the 2003
National Essay Contest for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students! This year’s
contest theme “Who is your hero—and why?” attracted
entries from 150 teens in schools for the deaf, mainstream programs, and
public schools. The teens give tribute to people they consider heroes—moms,
dads, teachers, firefighters, police officers—everyday people who
have touched their lives.
“It will take me at least two lifetimes to be only
half the person my father is,” wrote Alexia Yelton
from Chesterton High School, in Chesterton, Indiana,
who won first place and a $1,000 scholarship for her essay entitled “My
Father: Teacher, Coach—and My Inspiration.” Melinda
Douros, from Walsingham Academy in Williamsburg,
Virginia, wrote, “Sometimes heroes do not need to be bold and outspoken;
they can be silent and perhaps not even realize they are heroes.”
She won second place for her essay entitled “Uncle George—Attacked,
He Cared for Another.” Jason Weisburd, from General
Douglas MacArthur High School in Levittown, New York, wrote,
“As I look back, I consider my greatest heroes to be the three people
who most nobly gave of themselves to help me….” He won third
place for his essay, “My Family: The Lessons We Live.” Douros
and Weisburd will receive $500 and $300 scholarships, respectively.
This year’s two honorable mentions each won a $100
scholarship. Kathia Guerrier, from Boyd Anderson
High School in Lauderdale Lakes, Florida, wrote, “My hero
is someone that I don’t even know…this is the person that
saved my life…” in “A Stranger: Encounter in the Waves.”
Michelle Koplitz, from Memorial High School
in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, wrote in her essay “My Sister: The Beat
of Busy Wings” that “She does not realize how strong, how
determined, how inspirational she is.”
In addition, the Judges’ Choice awards for this year
are: “A Teacher: Rights, the Most Important Lesson” by Jonathan
Kessel from the Model Secondary School for the Deaf
in Washington, D.C.; “My Grandfather: In His Hands” by Elizabeth
Tricase from Bishop Grimes High School in East
Syracuse, New York; and “My Teachers: Skilled, Knowledgeable, Passionate,
Heroic” by Margaret Tufo from Smoky Hill
High School in Aurora, Colorado. The Editors’ Choice awards
are: “My Teachers” by Jackie Brower from
Murry Bergtraum High School in New York, New York; “My
Father” by Quinton Petty from the North
Carolina School for the Deaf in Morganton, North Carolina; “My
Mother” by Daniel Foley from the EDCO Program
for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing at Newton North High School
in Newtonville, Massachusetts; “Mama” by Jusley Ramirez
from the Model Secondary School for the Deaf in Washington,
D.C.; and “My Teacher” by Ruth Anna Spooner
from the Idaho School for the Deaf and Blind in Gooding,
Idaho.
Gallaudet University’s Department of Enrollment Services
and the Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center sponsor the Gallaudet
National Essay Contest to encourage deaf and hard of hearing high school
students to aspire to higher literary achievements. This year’s
top place winners will receive scholarship money, which will be doubled
for students who choose to enroll at Gallaudet University.
Special thanks to Gallaudet University Press for their donation
of multiple copies of two books, The Cry of the Gull by Emmanuelle
Laborit and A Phone of Our Own by Harry A. Lang. Each contest
winner will receive a book. All participants will receive certificates
of meritorious entry.
Special thanks to contest judges Chris Heuer,
poet, writer, and Gallaudet University English professor; Angela
Laguardia, teacher at the Model Secondary School for the Deaf;
and Richard Jeffries, literacy coordinator at the Clerc
Center at Gallaudet University.
Winning essays can be viewed in the Summer
2003 issue of World Around You magazine, which is published
by the Clerc Center. To receive a copy of this issue, contact: Tim Worthylake,
World Around You, KDES PAS-6, Gallaudet University, 800 Florida
Avenue, NE, Washington, DC 20002-3695; (800) 526-9105 (V/TTY); (202) 651-5708
(FAX); or Timothy.Worthylake@gallaudet.edu.
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