Congratulations to all Essay Contest Winners!
This year in celebration of the National Adult Education and Family Literacy (AEFL) Week, the DC Adult and Family Literacy Coalition hosted its 2nd annual city-wide essay contest for adult learners.
The prompt was:
Write a letter to your councilmember explaining some of the obstacles that you face in pursuing your education, taking care of your family, and/or getting or keeping a good job. What could the Council do to address these obstacles?
Submissions were received from five different organizations and essays were judged in four different categories: beginning learner, intermediate learner, English as a Second Language Learner, and essays in Spanish.
The judges were
- Representative Franklin Garcia, US Representative (Shadow) for the District of Columbia
- Antoinette Mitchell, Assistant Superintendent of Postsecondary and Career Education in the Office of the State Superintendent of Education
- Andy Shallal, entrepreneur and founder of Busboys and Poets and Eatonville Restaurant
- Councilmember Elissa Silverman (Independent, at-large)
Winners and runners up in each category were recognized at a kickoff event hosted by Busboys and Poets on Monday, September 21st. The event also featured a panel discussion about adult learning in the District, moderated by Lecester Johnson, CEO of Academy of Hope. Representative Garcia, Ms. Mitchell, Mr. Shallal and Councilmember Silverman participated in the panel, along with adult learner Alicia Sullivan.
Congratulations to all the winners and runners up!
Beginning Learner Category:
Runner-Up: Deborah Bonilla, The Family Place
Winner: Marco Castillo, The Family Place
Intermediate Learner Category:
Runner-Up: Alicia Sullivan, Academy of Hope (Alicia also served as a panelist)
Winner: Katrina McKinney, Southeast Ministry
ESL Category:
Runner-up: Maksim Poddiachii, Carlos Rosario
Winner: Manuche Goncalves, BRIYA
Spanish Essays Category:
Runner-up: Misael Argueta, The Family Place
Winner: Luz Amelia Marrow, The Family Place