Two students from Chesterfield County, Virginia have won the Virginia War Memorial’s 2016 Veterans Day Essay Contest.
The winner in the middle school category is Jordan Bowe, an eighth-grade student at Matoaca Middle School. The high school category winner is Lauren Faherty, an eleventh grader at Manchester High School.
Both students read their essays on stage as part of the Commonwealth’s Veterans Day Ceremony at the Virginia War Memorial on November 11. Over a thousand guests attended the event including Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe who was the keynote speaker.
Jordan’s essay was entitled “Could You Walk In Their Boots?” The title of Lauren’s essay was “My Family’s Love of America.” Both essays are posted on the Memorial’s website: www.vawarmemorial.org.
Each winner also received a $200 check donated by Haley BuickGMC of Midlothian, Virginia, and were congratulated by Governor McAuliffe.
“Educating our young people is one of our most important missions here at the Virginia War Memorial. We plan to offer more essay contest opportunities for Virginia students in the future,” said Morgan Guyer, the Memorial’s assistant education director.
The 2016 Virginia War Memorial Veterans Day Essay Contest was open to all public, private, and homeschooled middle and high school students in Virginia. Students wrote personal essays of 400 to 500 words based on a quote from a speech given by World War II General Matthew B. Ridgway at the dedication of the Virginia War Memorial on February 29, 1956.
