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Boardman juniors win essay awards
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .Boardman juniors Mikel Zeidenstein (left) and Lindsay Olenych recently two essay contests honoring the legacies of African-Americans. Olenych won a first-place prize out of 1,500 contest entries in the 2012 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Art, Writing, and Multimedia Contest. Zeidenstein earned a laptop and a $1,000 prize for his school for being a finalist in Dominion's "Strong Men and Women: Excellence in Leadership" Student Writing Contest.
By SARAH FOOR
Two Boardman juniors recently used their writing skills to honor the legacy of important African-Americans of national and local notoriety.
Lindsay Olenych was chosen as the first-place winner of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Art, Writing, and Multimedia Contest out of more than 1,500 contest entries.
In her entry, Olenych reflected on the peaceful tactics discussed in King’s speech “The Quest for Peace and Justice.” Olenych focused on King’s messages of poverty, war and non-violence and related them to experiences in her own life.
“Sometimes, it was tough to compare really big issues like war to things that have happened to me. But I think a kernel of each issue can be present in everyone’s life and I think that came through in the essay,” said Olenych of her piece.
Olenych will travel to Columbus on Feb. 23 to read her essay and receive an award.
Classmate Mikel Zeidenstein was honored as one of three winners in the Ohio service area for Dominion’s “Strong Men and Women: Excellence in Leadership” writing contest.
Zeidenstein was asked to consider the achievements of outstanding African-Americans and chose to honor former Youngstown mayor Jay Williams. The student noted the many positive changes he has seen in Youngstown during Williams’ tenure.
“Our mayor has redefined our town to become a promising and eventful place of inspiration for all struggling areas. If any African American has impacted my life, even if it’s a minute sense of hope, it’s definitely Mayor Jay Williams,” wrote Zeidenstein in his essay.
Zeidenstein was invited to read his essay at a lunch ceremony on Feb. 3, and received a laptop and a $1,000 prize to be donated to his school.
“I’ll be donating the money to the Boardman English department. Our AP English teacher, Mrs. [Randy] Nord, pushed us to enter contests like this, so I’m glad it can go back to help the department,” Zeidenstein said.