Mlk Essay Contest 2016 Denver
The theme for the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. writing, speech and art contests this year is Take a Stand for Truth and Justice.
Writing Contest | Sponsored by the Milwaukee Teachers Education Association and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Speech Contest | Sponsored by We Energies
Art Contest | Sponsored by the Brewers Community Foundation and the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts
This years Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Celebration will be held at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts on Sunday, January 14, at 1pm. The winners of the speech, art, and writing contests will be recognized at this event. Plan to join us!
WRITING CONTEST WINNERS
Group Project: Grades K-1
Winner: Burbank, Grade 1, Room
Teacher: Christine Sylvester
Students: Nevaeh Ashford, Noah Brito, Aviana Brown, Raeyah Byas, Davis Chanthavona,
Briana Davis, Eli Haase, Ashadeeyah Khidhr, Sariah Perkins, Jason Renfro,
Zuri Renova, Cooper Stricklen, Blake Vang, Jayden Xiong
Grades
1st Micah Webb, Grade 3, Golda Meir
Teacher: Ms. Galloway
2nd Nikyonna McDaniels, Grade 3, Emerson
Teachers: Tyra Merriweather, Raven Davis, Chequetta Ferguson
3rd Sophia Wood, Grade 3, Trowbridge
Teacher: Desire Tyler
Grades
1st Nicolas Holtzman, Grade 4, Milwaukee German Immersion
Teacher: Doris Mattke
2nd Nancy Thao, Grade 4, Bruce
Teacher: Cecelia Williams
3rd Lelaya Clay, Grade 5, Elm Creative Arts
Teacher: Glenda Stacker
Grade 6
1st Tatiyana Dockery, Grade 6, Keefe Avenue
Teacher: Aruna Halala
2nd Golden Brown, Grade 6, Golda Meir
Teacher: Hannelore Kinney
3rd Nakiyah Gooden-Alexander, Grade 6, Keefe Avenue
Teacher: Aruna Halala
Grades
1st Faith Abdirahman, Grade 7, Salam
Teacher: Ms. Schauer
2nd Daisy Kiekhofer, Grade 8, Golda Meir
Teacher: Ms. Navarro
3rd Vaughn Smith, Grade 8, Golda Meir
Teacher: Ms. Navarro
Grades
1st Christian Delfosse, Grade 9, Rufus King
Teacher: Kelly O’Keefe-Boettcher
2nd Christian Kind, Grade 10, Milwaukee High School of the Arts
Teacher: Mrs. Claypool
3rd Eleajah Thompson, Grade10, Milwaukee High School of the Arts
Teacher: Mrs. Claypool
Grades 11 and 12
1st Amani Omari, Grade 12, Salam
Teacher: Jason Then
2nd Lauren O’Hear, Grade 11, Ronald Reagan College Preparatory
Teacher: Margaret Holtgrieve
3rd Tien Vo, Grade 12, Ronald Reagan College Preparatory
Teacher: Margaret Holtgrieve
There was no one behind the knock at the apartment door. Just a note.
Her aunt and uncle needled Miriam Castillo to read it out loud. Maybe it was a message from a secret admirer, they joked.
The sixth-grader opened the letter and read the profanity-laced sentences that will never leave her.
“You wetbacks, why are you staying here? Go back to your country. You're not worth anything here.”
It went on, but Castillo had to put the paper down.
“I didn't know how to react,” says Castillo, the youngest child of a then-undocumented Mexican mother and now a third-year psychology and sociology student at DU. “I know up until that point I never thought people saw me or my family differently. But after that note, I did.”
Castillo, born in the United States, always knew her mom, who suffers from epilepsy, had to clean houses under the table to raise three kids on her own. She knew her mom could never find an official job.
But with that offensive letter in hand, she resolved to prove people like the author wrong.
Her weapon, she says now, was her dream: a college education — something no one in her family possessed.
The note came to mind as Castillo wrote her college application essay, as she visited campus and as she met people in DU’s Excelling Leaders Institute, which works to build leadership and community among minority students.
Castillo no longer felt “different,” despite the obstacles facing so many students with a similar heritage. They’re the obstacles she wants to take on, as she plans to march in the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Marade.
“I feel like in the Marade, you see the people surrounding you and you see you’re not the only person going through similar circumstances,” Castillo says. “We’re all striving for the same thing: We’re just trying to improve our lives and our communities. It’s not going to be easy, but it’s attainable.”
It’s certainly not easy for Castillo to wake up at a.m. to catch the first of two light rail trains that bring her to campus each day. But she considers it an investment in her family and in this country’s future. She wants to pursue a doctoral degree after she graduates.
“If you firmly believe in something, stand up for it,” she says. “Go to school. Become smart. Educate yourself about things going on in the world. Find out how you can be a part of it and make it better.”
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