OHS student wins trip to DC
What started as a class assignment turned into an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, DC., for one Olney High School student, and accolades for a second when winners of an essay contest were announced Feb. 28.
Junior Adelade Edgington was ecstatic when she learned that she had not only advanced to finals but won the annual Fort Belknap Electric Company Essay Contest, allowing her to travel to the nation’s capital and not only meet our State Representatives, but visit The Kennedy Center, The Holocaust Museum and more famous landmarks. Of the 38 submissions, Edgington triumphed overall and gained a part of the Government In-Action Youth Tour, along with 150 other victors from across the state. The tour takes place from June 12 through June 21.
Along with fourth-place winner Madeline Clayton, students from Olney High School’s Advanced Placement English classes wrote essays on “What is the Single Biggest Problem Facing the Youth of Today?”
Writing on “perception” (or lack thereof), Edgington learned of her top five placement in a call. She later was summoned to Fort Belknap for an interview with a panel of judges. The essay and interview each accounted for half her winning score.
“While it is true that the U.S. is certainly not without blemish, it seems to have been forgotten by youth that America is the most successful experiment in ordered liberty and has been the vessel for the most human flourishing of any nation in history,” Edgington wrote in her essay. “Young Americans, however, are accustomed to celebrating values that ardently contradict the constitution so many people worldwide, who are not as fortunate to live under a similar government, hold dear.”
Clayton and three students from other area schools (Myia Jackson (Second), Austin Simmons (Third), and Sam Mills (Fifth), also sat for interviews.
“I was very surprised because I wasn’t expecting to be picked as a finalist,” Clayton told Olney Enterprise.
English teacher Jina Nickel assigned the essay topic to her junior and senior AP classes; This is the fifth time in six years that an Olney High School student has won the Fort Belknap contest, with students Wric Cuba, Heidi Rodriguez, Payton Meade, Christian Fuksa, and Bryanna Nickel winning in the past. “Dr. Matt Caffey, our principal, has a background in English and has encouraged an excellent English composition/writing department at OHS,” Nickel said. “He has truly set the bar high in our English classes and was instrumental in building our team.”