Stamford Student Wins Big Prize In Essay Contest

Via Stamford Public Schools: STAMFORD, CT — Stamford Public Schools announced Thursday that Academy of Information Technology & Engineering (AITE) Junior Carlee Reid is the winner of the Altice USA Hispanic Heritage Month Essay Contest. Reid will receive the grand prize, a $1,500 scholarship, during a ceremony Friday, Dec. 20, at 9 a.m. for her essay, "The Music of Manzanero."

According to the organization, in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, Altice USA invited middle and high school students across its Optimum and Suddenlink service areas to submit a 500-word essay that responded to the following prompt: "Name a Latino, past or present, who has inspired you to dream big."

Students competed for a grand prize of $1,500 scholarship and three runner-up prizes, in each of the high school and middle school categories. This the third year in a row that an AITE student was named a winner or runner up in this national competition. Reid is the only Connecticut high school student to be recognized this year.

Reid wrote an essay that described how the music of Mexican Musician, Singer and Composer Armando Manzanero has inspired her. She wrote the essay as part of her UCONN Early College Experience Spanish Class, taught by AITE Teacher Kelly Angileri.