Millburn Student Wins National Essay Contest On U.S. Government

MILLBURN, NJ — A high school student in Millburn recently won a national essay contest with a display of knowledge about the U.S. government and its history.

Annika Sharma, a junior at the Millburn High School, won the 2018 National Society of the Colonial Dames of America (NSCDA) Congressional Essay Contest, and has been invited to attend the Washington Workshops Congressional Seminar in Washington D.C. as a winner in the National Essay Contest during the week of June 23-29.

According to organizers, the contest – now in its 39th year - encourages students from across the United States to gain a greater understanding of the nation’s history, a greater understanding of its three branches of government and the importance of “being engaged citizens in our democracy.”

Here’s the essay question that Sharma aced:

“Why did the authors of the United States Constitution give Presidents the power to issue Executive Orders? How did Congress and the Judicial Branch limit these orders?”

The essay contest is open to U.S. high school students and is a “major project” of The NSCDA, organizers said. It’s held under the auspices of the Washington Workshops Foundation, a private nonprofit educational program in American government for high school students. Winners receive full tuition, including seminar materials, university campus housing, and two meals daily, for “a week of citizenship education about the national government.”

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Photo courtesy of Gillian Cohen