WATCH: For Toms River Girl, American Flag Symbolizes Family's Love

Hannah Faruolo remembers the moment she first set foot in the United States five years ago.

She was walking through the airport after a 16-hour flight from Korea, and there it was: a gigantic American flag.

“I saw the stars and stripes and I knew I was home,” the 11-year-old Toms River girl said Wednesday as she recounted her story and read her essay on “What The American Flag Means To Me.” “The flag and the stars represent my family, to me,” she said.

Hannah’s essay, on how the American flag symbolized family and her new life in the United States, won the grand prize in the 12th annual American Patriot Essay Contest sponsored by PNC Bank. It was chosen from among nearly 5,000 entries in the statewide contest, which got its start in the wake of 9-11, PNC Senior Vice President John Whall said.

Hannah, a fourth-grader at Cedar Grove Elementary School, was supposed to ride aloft in a hot air balloon Wednesday morning as part of her grand prize, but that had to be scrapped due to high winds. But she and her family received passes for a hot air balloon ride at the New Jersey Festival of Ballooning later this summer in Readington. She also received a plaque commemorating her victory and VIP passes for a meet-and-greet with Sabrina Carpenter of the Disney Channel.

And she got to be a star herself for the day, with television and other media organizations gathering behind the school to hear her talk about her essay and her experience.

The stars, she said, had been a part of her life from the beginning. She wished on them, hoping a family would adopt her from the orphanage where she lived in Korea. Then, once Dana and Clem Faruolo began the process to adopt her, the mother of boy she knew in Korea began teaching her English and teaching her about American culture.

“The first time I saw the American flag I thought the stars meant my dream of having a family was coming true because i had wished upon them,” Hannah wrote in part in the essay.

“The stars were mystical to her,” Dana said, and it wasn’t until Hannah saw the flag that day in the airport -- at the end of what Dana said was a rough flight where Hannah cried “the whole way,” that the young girl realized everything was going to be okay.

Dana said she and her husband had decided to adopt a child to add to their family -- they already had son Dominik, now 17, at that point -- and asked Dana’s uncle, who had been volunteering in an orphanage in Korea, to send them information on children. They looked through lots of photos and chose Hannah -- not knowing that Dana’s uncle had already bonded with the little girl.

“He was thrilled,” Dana said.

It took two years for the adoption to be completed, and when they finally traveled to Korea to bring Hannah home, Dana said they snuck into the orphanage to meet their new daughter.

“We were a mile apart, and though they wanted us to wait, I couldn’t wait any longer,” Dana said. They snuck in and crawled on their hands and knees until they reached the room Hannah was in. ‘

“We finally get to the room she’s in and she opens the door and says, ’Oma!’ “ which, Dana said, is the Korean word for mother. “I lost it,” Dana said, explaining that she cried tears of joy.

“Everyone should adopt a child,” she said. “It’s an amazing experience.”

On Wednesday, the sense of joy mixed perfectly with pride, as Hannah’s teacher, Nick Liguori, her classmates and others turned out to join her family members as they watched her receive her prize.

Later, the balloon staff inflated one of the giant hot air balloons and allowed Hannah and her family and friends to romp inside.

“It’s a neat writing experience, and it’s good for the kids to write something about the flag,” Liguori said. He was thrilled to have his student win the grand prize, because of the sense of pride it brings to the whole school. He had his classes participating in it for about 10 years, he said.

“When I read Hannah’s essay, I knew it was good. I couldn’t imagine what else they might be looking for,” he said. And when he got the news that she’d actually won, “I was just texting everyone.”

“When one student wins, we win, too,” he said.

“These are the stories you like to hear,” said Linda Wilhelms, a retired Toms River kindergarten teacher who taught Hannah English in the first months after she arrived in United States, while her family waited for paperwork to arrive from Korea that would allow them to enroll in school. “She was so willing and quick, just a lovely child.”

Hannah and her family -- parents Dana and Clem, brothers Dominik (17), Vincenzo (11) and Gianni (7) and her pop-pop Louis Maurio -- enjoyed the spotlight for the day, even if it was too windy to actually rise in the balloon’s basket.

And while Hannah will have to wait a few more weeks to actually get closer to the stars, she has a message for all those children who, like her, are waiting. ”Someday, they will have a family, too.”

Here’s Hannah’s winning essay:

“What The American Flag Means To Me”

“The American flag is a personal symbol. I love that I live in a country where you are free to believe however you want. I was born in Korea and lived in an orphanage until I was 6. During the adoption I learned about the country and culture I was going home to. The first time I saw the American flag Ithought the stars meant my dream of having a family was coming true because I had wished upon them. Getting off the airplane I saw the stars and stripes and I knew I was home. I was an American.”

(Photos: Hannah Faruolo and her family; Hannah with Howard Freeman, executive producer of the QuickChek NJ Festival of Ballooning (left) and Joseph Whall, senior vice president of PNC; the balloon on the ground behind Cedar Grove Elementary School; Hannah with Linda Wilhelms, who taught her English when she first arrived in the United States. Hannah and her classmates, and receiving her prizes from Freeman inside the balloon’s basket. Credits: Karen Wall)