World Citizen Essay Contest

Congratulations to our winners!

 

Grades 3-5

1st Place, “The Brave Little Turtle,” by Kayla Lay
View Ridge Elementary, Everett School District

2nd Place, “A School Life,” by Grace Harman
Bryant Elementary, Seattle Public Schools

3rd Place,  “The Breadwinner” by Cora Wright
Bryant Elementary, Seattle Public Schools

Grades 6-8

1st Place, “Be Brave,” by Quinn Sullivan
Eckstein Middle School, Seattle Public Schools

2nd Place, “Persevering in the Darkest of Times: Wisdom from Maus,” by Anna Galbraith
Eckstein Middle School, Seattle Public Schools

3rd Place, “Breaking Down Walls,” by Harriet Wright
Eckstein Middle School, Seattle Public Schools

Grades 9-12

1st Place, “Weep Not, Child: The Light of Kenya, a Story of Hope,” by Emily Geyman
Lakeside School

2nd Place, “Becoming Conscious,” by Madeline Bennett
Redmond High School, Lake Washington School District

3rd Place, “Abby Takes a Stand,” by Meg Leonard
Redmond High School, Lake Washington School District

Join us as we celebrate our winners at the Seattle Asian Art Museum with Nancy Pearl. At the ceremony, the winners will receive their cash prizes, a certificate, and a copy of Nancy Pearl’s book, Book Crush. Register here!

 

If you were Nancy Pearl…

The goal of the World Citizen Essay Contest is to promote discussion among students, teachers, families, and community members about the ways that individuals can effect positive change in the global community.

Washington students in grades 3 through 12 are invited to enter the blogosphere with this prompt: If you were Seattle author and librarian Nancy Pearl and you were writing a new blog post entitled “Books Without Borders,” what book would you include? Please write a blog post to describe one book that has helped you see the world in a new light and that focuses on a world culture or global issue. The book could be one that you are reading now or one that was read to you as a small child and changed the way you looked at the world. How did this book impact you and why would you promote it to children and young adults?

Materials: Rules, Judging Rubric, Cover Form (Required with each submission), Getting Started Guide

Spreading the word: Print out this flyer for the World Citizen Essay Contest and distribute it to teachers, schools, community centers, and anywhere else where students in your life might see it! Stay up-to-date on the essay contest and easily spread the word by following us on Twitter and liking us on Facebook!

Celebratory event: Join us as we celebrate our winners with Nancy Pearl. Register here.

Previous Essay Contest Topics and Winning Essays:

13th Annual World Citizen Essay Contest (2011)

Congratulations to our 2011 World Citizen Essay Contest Winners!

On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the World Affairs Council and the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Seattle World’s Fair, the World Affairs Council embarked on a two-year partnership with the Seattle Center Foundation.

The question for the 2011 World Citizen Essay Contest was:
“Looking back over the last sixty years, please identify a Puget Sound-based innovation that has left its mark around the world. Explain why and how this innovation had an impact beyond the United States. (This impact can be related to the arts, sports, music, popular culture, technology, civic action, global health, education, manufacturing, etc.)”

Thank you to all of the students who submitted essays and to the outstanding judges who volunteered their time to read them all!

Our special congratulations to the following students who were the top finalists in each category. Click on the links below to read excerpts from our winning essays.

	Grades 3-5	Grades 6-8	Grades 9-12
First Place	Kendall Barton Bryant Elementary School “Theo Chocolate”	Arun Palaniappan Odle Middle School “Eradicating Deadly Diseases: The Washington Global Health Alliance”	Zanwar Faraj Sammamish High School “The New Era of Commerce”
Second Place	Jacob Cain View Ridge Elementary School “Amazon.com, It’s Something New”	Zachary Cushman Haller Middle School “Achievements of Ultra Rice”	Blake Peterson Kamiakin Junior High School “Innovations in a Cup of Coffee”
Third Place	Alex MacLean Bryant Elementary School “Dale Chihuly, A Northwest Innovator”	Matthew Taylor Haller Middle School “SightLife”	Elena Plenefisch Kamiakin Junior High School “Healthcare to Go”

On June 23rd, 2011 World Citizen Essay Contest winners were interviewed about global innovation on Public Exposure SCAN-TV. Watch the 30 minute interview here.

12th Annual World Citizen Essay Contest (2010)

The question for the 2010 World Citizen Essay Contest was:

“Despite the ever increasing importance of understanding the histories, governments, and cultures, of people from all over the world, many news organizations in recent years have had to cut their foreign correspondent staff. If you were a journalist on an international assignment, where would you like to go, what issue would you cover, and why? “

Thank you to the 390 students who submitted essays and the 78 judges who spent time reading them all. Essay Contest winners were being honored at a Global Classroom Celebration on May 17th, 2010.

Our special congratulations to the following students, top finalists in each category.

	3rd-5th Grade	6th-8th Grade	9th-12th Grade
First  Place	Jerry Xu Stevenson Elementary Land and Religion Wars	Erica Ng University Prep Developing Countries and Education	Melissa Chan Eastside Catholic High School A Thing Called Beauty
Second Place	Evelyn Doran View Ridge Elementary School Child Servitude in India: Shedding Light on a Dark Subject	Emma Every Lakeside School Finding Their Voice	Anna Bjarvin Timbercrest Junior High Addressing World Issues- Brazil Deforestation
Third Place	Madeline West Bryant Elementary School The Forgotten War	Ashlen Ahearne Woodward Middle School Searching for the Elusive Keys to Co-Existence	Madeline Kleiner University Prep Is There a Jihad Against Freedom of Expression?

11th Annual World Citizen Essay Contest (2009)

The question for the 2009 World Citizen Essay Contest was:

“Imagine that you are Hillary Rodham Clinton, the new U.S. Secretary of State and head of the U.S. Department of State, which has a mission to create a more secure, democratic, and prosperous world for the benefit of the American people and the international community. Describe one international issue you think is important today. Why do you think this issue is important to both the U.S. and the world? Considering the mission of the U.S. Department of State, what would you do about this issue?”

Thank you to the 215 students who submitted essays and the 78 judges who spent time reading them all. Essay Contest winners were being honored at a Global Classroom Celebration on May 27th, 2009.

Our special congratulations to the following students, top finalists in each category.

	3rd-5th Grade	6th-8th Grade	9th-12th Grade
First  Place	Jacob Clayton Bryant Elementary School Turn Down the Heat	Anna Kimura Odle Middle School Afghanistan:Give Diplomacy a Chance	Pavallan Mohan Inglemoor High School Returning Israel and Palestine Back on Track for Peace
Second Place	Nathan McDermott Stevenson Elementary School Nuclear Weapons in Iran	Sarah Williams Odle Middle School Clean Energy for a Better World	Rima Kaboul Inglemoor High School Freedom from Genocide in the Darfur Region
Third Place	Sam Nasralla Bryant Elementary School Putting Food in Your Car You Won’t Get Far	Kristin Hirata Odle Middle School Making a Positive Impression on the World	Leifur Gunnarsson Roosevelt High School Poverty: A Universal Dilemma

 

10th Annual World Citizen Essay Contest (2008)

The question from the 2008 World Citizen Essay Contest was:

“In April, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama (1989 Nobel Prize winner for Peace) will journey to Seattle to discuss and celebrate compassion in action with Seattle-area youth, educators, and policy makers. Definition: ‘Compassionate acts are generally considered those which take into account the suffering of others and attempt to alleviate that suffering as if it were one’s own.’ (From Wikipedia – as cited by the organization Seeds of Compassion) A) Considering the definition above, identify an individual who has been moved by compassion to take action on a problem. Describe his or her work. How did he or she demonstrate compassion? B) Now, imagine yourself as an adult. Following in this individual’s footsteps, what international issue would you want to tackle? Why is this issue important? What steps might you take to resolve the issue? Why does this issue awaken compassion in you?”

Thank you to the over 200 students who submitted essays and the 33 judges who spent time reading them all. Essay contest winners were honored at a special reception and award ceremony on June 17, 2008.

Our special congratulations to the following students, top finalists in each category.

	3rd-5th Grade	6th-8th Grade	9th-12th Grade
First  Place	Karthik Meiyappan Stevenson Elementary Ghandi, Savior of Harijans	Adriana Cvitkovic The Northwest School Seeds of Compliance	Angelia Tyler West Seattle High Taking Care of Our World
Second Place	Kathleen Zhu Stevenson Elementary Drilling Wells in Africa — Compassion in Action	Corryn Wetzel Seattle Girls’ School A Humanitarian Act to Create Habitat	David Hyde The Overlake School Teaching Compassion
Third Place	Sheuli Chowdhury Stevenson Elementary A Compassionate Hero: A Confluence of the Mind and Heart	Krista Showalter Haller Middle School Seeds of Compassion	Ilham Abdulrahman Sammamish High School Father of the Year