By JOHN SNYDER
STAFF WRITER
PARK RIDGE—Congratulations to the many area students who entered this year’s American Legion Auxiliary’s Americanism Essay Contest, particularly those students who took first-place and honorable mention awards for their efforts.
One student, Our Lady of Mercy Academy graduate Mariel Persico, parlayed her 7th-8th grade division win into an additional first-place division win at the county level.
Persico is set to attend Immaculate Heart Academy this fall. Her essay, which calls for students to know their rights to become more engaged and effective citizens, was forwarded to the state contest, where another student in the county somehow squeaked past her.
All the county winners were invited to the 91st Annual Convention of the Bergen County Auxiliary, held at Post 147 in Elmwood Park.
According to the local essay contest’s coordinator, Dot Bozzone of American Legion Auxiliary Unit 153, Park Ridge, this year 402 essays were received from East Brook School, West Ridge School, Park Ridge High School, Our Lady of Mercy Academy, and Memorial School, Montvale.
The winners from East Brook School in Park Ridge were Sophia Cochrane, first place, and Gianna Rohrbacher, honorable mention, in Division I (grades 3 and 4).
The winners from West Ridge School were Breydan Gaccione, first place, and Avery Cerabona, honorable mention, in Division I.
Division II winners (grades 5 and 6) were Victoria Gazda and Christina Vitale, both awarded first place, and James Moran, who took honorable mention.
Our Lady of Mercy Academy winners were David Coogan, first place, and Victoria Velasco, honorable mention (Division II), and Mariel Persico, first place, and Donald Folk, honorable mention, for Division III (grades 7 and 8).
Winning at Park Ridge High School (grades 9 and 10; Division IV) were Ashley Derk, first place, and Ryan Kuopka, honorable mention.
In Division V (grades 11 and 12) Emma Spies won first place; Cole Triano won honorable mention.
The winners from Memorial School, Montvale, Division I, are Benjamin Linder, first place, and Ben Bauta, honorable mention (grades 3 and 4).
Bozzone said the Auxiliary would like to thank all the administrators and teachers who participated—Marcia Eisen was co-chair and assisted with the reading and judging of the essays—as well as the businesses who donated the gift cards presented to the first-place winners.
They are A&J Bagels, Dairy Queen Montvale, Dairy Queen Park Ridge, John’s Bagels, Momma’s Kitchen, Phil’s Pizza, Ridgemont Pizza, Uncle Louie G’s Homemade Italian Ices and Ice Cream, and Yo Fresh Frozen Yogurt.
Space does not permit us to reprint all the local essays thoughtfully written and proudly submitted, but we are pleased to bring you Mariel Persico’s:
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Q. How does learning about the American government and American history help you to become a future guardian of the liberties of our country?
I believe learning about my country’s government and learning about my country as a whole is an essential part of my and my classmates’ education. It is important to understand how our government operates in order to recognize how the government can impact my life and my future.
Students like myself need to be introduced to politics and government policies so that we can be aware of what is happening in our world and how we can make a difference.
Another benefit of learning about our government and our country is that we may realize that we would like to pursue a career in politics and government. I think that if all students learn about the government and the liberties it grants its people, we will become better-educated individuals.
Currently, there are laws affecting my rights and my education. I need to be aware of what rights I am entitled to in order to know what I am fighting for. I need to know what is right and wrong so I know how to protect the people and their rights.
Learning about America’s past can enlighten me on how things used to be and how they changed. No matter what my future career goals are, a well rounded education must include a knowledge of the government of the country in which I live.
People put their lives on the line to create laws that would not only benefit them but also affect the lives of generations to come. There are many liberties that I have that would not exist if people before me did not work hard to create, fight and defend them. Their sacrifices made it possible for me to have the freedoms and liberties that I enjoy today.
If learning about these liberties will enable me to be able to guard and defend them, it is a small price to pay to ensure that the legacies of those who came before us live on for generations to come.
— Mariel Persico, Our Lady of Mercy Academy