By NICK YAMASHITA
The Progress
A trio of young students from Grant Bowler Elementary in Logandale were awarded as winners in a nationally-sponsored essay contest during the school’s fifth grade advancement ceremony on Monday morning, May 20.
“This is a great honor for Moapa Valley as the top entries every year are from here,” National Immigration Council contest representative Nathalie Gottschalk said.
Gottschalk, who resides in Overton, said that the contest is open to all fifth-grade students from throughout the state and nation.
The “Celebrate America Creative Writing Contest” is first run by regional chapters of the National Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) at the local and state levels. The winners of the event then move on to the national level.
“The essay contest is to help students focus on the importance of immigration and how the US is a welcoming nation,” Gottschalk said.
Each year, the local teachers provide encourage their students to write entries for the contest. Last year, the national winner was from Moapa Valley. Lillie Villezcas wrote a poem entitled “3” which spoke about how she was a third-generation American immigrant and the importance of number three to her.
“It was amazing how our little town had a student represent Nevada and win the national competition,” Gottschalk said. “This little town needs to be proud of her and the rest of the students who do so well every year.”
The theme of the contest was to write a response to one of two possible questions: 1) “Why I am glad America is a nation of immigrants?” or 2) “What does it mean to be a welcoming nation?”
The 2023-2024 school year contest winners were announced last week and were awarded their certificates and stipends on Monday. This year’s local winners were picked by the Moapa Valley Educational Foundation.
The following were the results of the local contest: 1st – “Dear Ol’ Statue of Liberty” by Sloane Lee; 2nd – “I am Glad Immigrants are Here” by Charlotte Nelson; and 3rd – “Before We Immigrated” by Savannah Rider.
These three winning essays then competed at the state level. “Before We Immigrated” by Savannah Rider won first place. “Dear Ol’ Statue of Liberty” by Sloane Lee took second place. The third place state winner was a tie between “I am Glad Immigrants are Here” by Charlotte Nelson and another essay entitled “What does it mean to be a Welcoming Nation” by Tavion Taylor from West Prep Elementary of Las Vegas.
Rider will be representing the state of Nevada on the national level. Results will be announced in early June.
The winner will win a paid trip to the national awards ceremony in Chicago, Illinois on June 14 with two guests. There they will present their winning entry to the AILA convention in person.
“The teachers and schools are really good at encouraging students to seek out their own ancestral immigration lineage to this country and the patriotism is incredible,” Gottschalk said. “We really appreciate the support this contest gets from the community.”
For last year’s winning poem or more information about the contest, visit www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org.
1 thought on “Bowler students winners in AILA essay contest”
What a statement about how welcoming and open-minded MV is to new immigrants. Way to go, Grant Bowler teachers, AILA, MVEF, Sloane, Charlotte and Svannah!