Youth Reads 1st Place Poem

By CORINNE MESSER

The Progress

Local youth Lillie Villezcas had the opportunity to travel to Orlando, Florida and share her award winning poem entitled “3” at the American Immigration Council National Conference banquet held on Friday, June 23. Villezcas was announced as the national winner of the 2023 Celebrate America Creative Writing Contest.

Villezcas, who just completed her fifth grade year at Grant Bowler Elementary, was accompanied on the trip by her mother and her grandmother. The American Immigration Lawyer’s Association (AILA) events coordinator kept them busy with a full itinerary of activities.

“We got to stay in a nice hotel in Disney World and have a Disney character breakfast,” said Villezcas. “In the evening I attended a private screening of Spider-man with AILA association members. I got to meet a lot of nice people who were awesome.”

Villezcas also had the opportunity to be recorded reading her poem before attending the actual event later that evening.

Her poem is a moving message about her experience of being the third generation in an immigrant family.

The night of the event, Sheela Murthy, CEO of Murthy Law Firm and generous supporter, presented Villezcas on stage. Murthy spoke about the importance of the contest and how it has affected students, teachers, and communities with powerful stories about the immigrant experience.

Since the contest’s start, 26 years ago, over 100,000 fifth graders have participated in the contest. Murthy commented that the contest causes people to stop, learn and think about the role immigration has played in their own family’s history and how it continues to shape their lives even today.

Moapa Valley resident, Nathalie Gottschalk, an AILA member herself, was recognized and thanked for coordinating the national contest. Gottschalk is a member of the Nevada Chapter of AILA and has been a driving force behind local school kids to enter the contest for several years.

Murthy mentioned how Villezcas’ poetry directly represents the tenacity and strength of immigrant families.

After previously meeting with Villezcas she noticed Villezcas carries a special pride and responsibility to her family’s story, and although her family has faced challenges, they have kept persevering with that same strength.

At the ceremony, Villezcas received Congressional recognition for winning this nationwide contest from Nevada Senators, Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen, as well as Nevada Representative Dina Titus.

Villezcas’ mother Kayrem, and grandmother Kany stood by her on stage as she read her verse. Their presence was even more meaningful considering that the poem was about all three of them.
“I was so excited to be in attendance to see Lillie represent our little town and read her poem,” said Gottschalk. “She was very brave to read her poem in front of over 100 lawyers, and she didn’t seem afraid. She read it slowly and her voice was strong and loud.”

Lillie said that the inspiration behind her poem is her family and their history.
“They are my reason to keep pushing toward my goals and aspirations without forgetting my roots and where I came from,” she said.

Lillie also believes it’s important for kids to learn about and be aware of immigration. That is because they learn of the struggles and reasons each family made to come here, causing more respect and understanding, she said.

“The best part of my trip was being able to share my poem and story among so many inspirational people,” Lillie said. “And they actually stood up and clapped for me. That is something I will never forget.”

Villezcas was the only contest winner in the 26 year history of the contest to receive a standing ovation!

Although AILA covered Villezcas’ portion of the trip, she would like to thank Dr. Payden Anderson at Moapa Valley Family Dental, MVT, Dimopoulus Law Firm, Las Vegas Sport and Spine Center, Bradi and Bill Lamping, and Brett Lee for making it possible for more of her family to accompany her to Florida.

In the coming days, photos of Lillie and a video of her reciting her poem will be available for viewing on AILA’s website. This will be found by entering “AILA creative writing essay contest 2023” into a search engine.

“I encourage local 5th graders to enter next year’s essay contest for a chance at this opportunity,” Gottschalk said. “The stakes are higher now because we have had a winner.”

Click HERE to read the poem, which was published in the May 24 edition