Constitution essay contest winners named
The Republican Women of the Yoakum Areas announced the winners of its 15th annual Constitution Essay contest at the Yoakum Community Center on Wednesday, Nov. 8.
The winners were chosen from school districts in Lavaca, DeWitt, and Gonzales counties. Coming in at first place and winning a $1,300 cash prize is Joseph Goodwyne from Sacred Heart Catholic School. In second place and winning $800 is Brealinn Finch from Gonzales High School, third place and winner of $600 is Julia Barecky from St. Paul Catholic School, and fourth place and winner of $400 is Ava Grace Matias from Sacred Heart Catholic School.
All students participating were given a prompt based on the Constitution and current events.
This year’s question focused on the illegal immigration we in Texas have seen plenty of along our southern border this year. The essay must be at least three pages long.
Goodwyne said he did not expect to win this contest and was pleasantly surprised.
“I am very proud of this win,” he said. “I really like to stay educated on what’s happening in my country and I really like to know what’s going on to stay up to date on the Coow nstitution. I feel like wanting to know all that really helped me put together a cohesive essay. I was a little one-sided in my essay, I did lean towards to Republican side. I am a conservative; however, I tried my best to not put any pressure on the other side in this essay.”
Goodwyn aims to put his money straight into savings and hopes this money will assist with his college.
Rick Masek, government teacher at Sacred Heart Catholic School, was also given a $300 award for having a couple of his students named among the top winners.
At the event, students heard a speech from Congressman Michael Cloud’s assistant Mark Longoria. Longoria spoke about the Constitutional values and the characteristics people need to uphold to stay consistent with those values. Among those characteristics were prayer, preparation, and participation.
“I want to thank all the teachers and educators who were standing up and being true patriots today educating these teenagers to be great citizens,” Longoria said. “We live in the best country on Earth and in this current time, we’ve seen our nation decline. I hope to leave these kids inspired, motivated, and to get involved to change our future.”
There were 123 submissions turned in for this year’s contest.
“We had all the schools in Hallettsville participating as well as Moulton, Shiner, Yorktown, and Gonzales,” said ROWYA representative Brenda Cash of Shiner. “However, we did not have any participation from Yoakum. All the entries are from seniors only, we include both private schools and public schools.”