Photo: The winners and faculty advisers on Monday at the Presentation of Awards for the Interfaith Council of Southwest Queens Brotherhood/Sisterhood Essay Contest in Ozone Park.
Dozens of faculty, students, family and civic leaders on Monday evening packed an auditorium at the Christ Lutheran Church Parish Center in Ozone Park for the presentation of awards for the Interfaith Council of Southwest Queens annual Brotherhood/Sisterhood Contest.
The council honored 24 student scribes—first-, second- and third-place winners from eight area schools—who wrote the most clear, cogent and compelling essays on this year’s topic: “Youth Speaks Out,” focusing on the example of Malala Yousafzai being the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace prize for advocating for the right of all children to be educated.
The council asked the junior high students to share any strong feelings they might have on a human rights issue, and to speak to whether or not they feel comfortable sharing those feelings, even though they are young.
The participating schools: MS 137, Ave Maria Catholic Academy, Divine Mercy Catholic Academy, MS 210, PS/MS 124, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Academy, St. Helen Catholic Academy, and PS/MS 232.
“As a teacher, this means a lot to me,” said Zennebe Arnold, an English Language Arts teacher at MS137. “This year was especially important, because the students were able to show that their voices do matter.”
Adesina Adeniran, an 8th grader at PS/MS 124 who penned the essay “Black Lives Matter,” said it felt good to be acknowledged.
“A lot of youth don’t get recognized for displaying their feelings,” he noted. “So it’s nice that this organization set this up so we could be recognized.”
Dr. Gary Krigsman, president of the Interfaith Council, said that this year’s contest spoke to critical role that diversity plays in society.
“It’s important that we recognize this in each other,” he said.
By Michael V. Cusenza michael@theforumnewsgroup.com
