Eight students were honored at the Feb. 17 meeting of the Skokie Valley Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Three were winners of the American History Essay Contest and five were chosen by their high schools to receive the DAR Good Citizen honorary award.
All of the winners of the American History Essay Contest are 7th graders at Wilmette Junior High School because only one teacher chose to participate, according to Chapter Regent Melissa Lindner.
“The National Society picks a topic,” Lindner said. “This year it was about John Philip Sousa and the march ‘Stars and Stripes Forever,’ which is our country’s official march.”
The essays are judged by two DAR members and one non-DAR member. The totals of all three judges are combined to pick the winners.
“These contests—both American History and the Good Citizen—have many different levels,’ Lindner reported. “If they win here, they go on to the district level. From the district, the winners go to the state and division and then they go into national.”
Eliana Hart-Cunningham, the first place American History Essay Contest winner, was the only winner who was asked to read her essay at the meeting.
“You’re supposed to write historical fiction about that day the first time it (Stars and Stripes Forever) was performed,” Hart-Cunningham said. “I was pretending to be a journalist in the story and writing about what I observed. The person who wrote the march was John Philip Sousa so I also wrote a little bit about him and who he was as a person.”
Hart-Cunningham said that she had to do research to write her entry because she didn’t know much about the topic.
“I’m very happy they liked my piece of writing,” she said. “Definitely somewhat surprised.”
Second place winner Benji Bugni said the feature had to be about the time period when Sousa’s march was first played in Philadelphia.
“I focused on the reactions of the people in the city to the song,” Bugni said. “And also while it was being played, the audience’s reactions.”
Bugni did a lot of research to write his story, saying he wanted to go more in depth about Sousa as a person. In terms of winning, Benji said that it means “to be able to do well at something that I enjoyed doing.”
Chloe Hamm, who placed third, said that she entered the contest because she thought it would be different form other writing she’s done.
“I always write fake stories so I thought it would be cool to change a little,” she said.
Hamm’s story was about being a journalist going to the parade where Sousa’s march was being played. She reported that was part of the assignment “but we all had to make our character fit into the story.”
Chair of the Good Citizen Committee Roxann Specht is tasked with contacting local high schools to coordinate with staff on who can serve as the school’s competition coordinator.
“It’s usually the Social Studies Department chair,” Specht said. “I give them the material and they will let me know if they will have a Good Citizen nominee for their school.”
Only seniors are eligible. Traits of a Good Citizen candidate are dependability, service, leadership and patriotism, according to Specht.
Winners this year are Gianna Grace Figlioli of Chicago from Loyola Academy, Michael Achilles Dolan of Winnetka from New Trier High School, Samuel Henry Rhodes of Skokie from Niles North High School, Fionn Charles Mulvihill Riley of Morton Grove from Niles West High School and Yoon Oh of Glenview from Glenbrook South High School.
Good Citizen winners have the option of writing a scholarship essay as well. Those who choose to write an essay can move up the ladder to the different levels of the competition – to district, state, division and national. All five winners chose to write essays this year.
“It’s thrilling to read them,” Specht said. “It gives a person hope for the future.”
The prompts for that essay are so guarded that Specht drives to each high school to deliver the prompts in a sealed envelope. The student then completes the essay in a two-hour proctored session at the school.
“They can’t have any notes,” she said. “They have to write it extemporaneously.”
This year’s prompt was: “What are the civic responsibilities of a good citizen and why are these duties, activities and changes important to the shaping of the America you hope to experience.” The title of each essay had to be: “Our American Heritage and Our Responsibility for Preserving It.”
Three non-DAR judges, usually retired educators, choose the essay to be entered in the next level of the competition.
This year, Yoon Oh had the top-scored submission, so her essay was sent on to the DAR District Level competition.
The winner of the National Good Citizen competition receives a $10,000 scholarship.
Lindner said that the Skokie Valley Chapter NSDAR conducts these contests because part of their goal is to promote education.
“This is promoting education. This is promoting patriotic values and history,” she said. “Learning about how to be a good citizen; learning about how to lead our country in the future.”
Myrna Petlicki is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
