Eight students win American Legion essay contest
February 22, 2012 10:28AM
Winners of the 2012 La Grange American Legion Essay Contest (from left) Megan Kern, Emma Decker, Karenna Lange, Helana Hernandez, Nathan Stables, Genevieve Lampert, Deanna Keen, and Matthew Smith accept their awards at the Robert E. Coulter, Jr., Post.
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Updated: March 29, 2012 4:07PM
Eight middle and high school students received awards on Feb. 15 in the annual American Legion essay contest sponsored by the Robert E. Coulter, Jr., Post and Auxiliary in La Grange.
This year’s contest received 107 essays from students who competed in three categories according to their grade level. Emma Decker, an eighth-grader from Saint Cletus School, won first place in the Class I category for grades 7-8. Lyons Township High School sophomore Karenna Lange won first place in the Class II competition for students in grades 9-10, and LTHS senior Nathan Stables won first place in the Class III competition for students in grades 11-12.
Megan Kern, an eighth-grader at Saint Cletus School, took second place, and Genevieve Lampert, an eighth-grader from Saint John’s Lutheran School, won third place in the Class I category.
Deanna Keen, a freshman at Riverside Brookfield High School, won second place in the Class II category. Two LTHS seniors, Matthew Smith and Helana Hernandez, took second and third place, respectively, in the Class III competition.
Students were challenged to write an essay on the topic “America’s Constitutional Freedoms” as part of a statewide contest sponsored by the American Legion organization in Illinois.
La Grange first place winners Decker, Lange, and Stables will now compete with winners from across suburban Cook County. Competition will continue up the American Legion’s regional organization until the best essays in the state are chosen in June.
In last year’s contest, La Grange winner Karenna Lange’s essay won the state second place award in Class II competition. Students whose essays win at the state level can take home up to $1,200 in scholarship awards.
The Robert E. Coulter, Jr., Post and Auxiliary is located at 900 S. La Grange Road in La Grange. Find the auxiliary on Facebook at “American Legion Auxiliary La Grange, Illinois.”
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