Lincoln-Way Central Students Win Voice of Democracy VFW Contest

From Lincoln-Way High School District:

Four Lincoln-Way Central students recently won top honors in the local New Lenox VFW Post 9545 Voice of Democracy writing contest.

The winning essays were written by Jade Rector, first place; Michael Kuehni, second place; Meaghan Wagner, third place; and Carly Smith, fourth place.

“All winners will be honored at a banquet in January," said Sandra Rogina, the English department chair for Lincoln-Way Central. "Several English teachers encouraged the students to write essays and enter the contest. The VFW essay contest is always a good one for our students to enter.”

Over 82 essays were submitted from Lincoln-Way Central plus many others from other high schools in Will County.

Since 1947, the Voice of Democracy has been the Veterans of Foreign Wars premier scholarship program. Each year more than 100,000 high school students compete for more than $2.5 million in scholarships and incentives. Students compete by writing and recording a broadcast script on an annual patriotic theme. The theme for this year’s contest was: “Why I’m  Optimistic about our Nation’s Future.”

“I am passionate about writing and I really liked the subject prompt," said Jade Rector, a junior. "I am optimistic about our country’s future because we as Americans have made so much progress in such a short time as a country.

“Just take women’s suffrage as one example," Rector said. "In less than 60 years since women received the right to vote, we have had a women running for president."

Rector noted she was excited to attend the banquet in January at the VFW hall in New Lenox.

Rector, Kuehni, Wagner and Smith are all students in Lisa Yanule’s English classes, Rogina said.

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