Independence Essay Winners Announced

It took almost a three month wait, however, the winners of the 2016 Independence essay competition were all smiles yesterday as they walked away richer and happier following their successful submissions.
Students attending primary, secondary and tertiary institutions were given an opportunity in October to win cash prizes on entering the essay-writing competition on the theme for last year’s Independence celebration “Building an Economic Powerhouse, Together”.
At the end of it all, the judges felt that 10-year-old Zaira Apparicio from St John’s Catholic Primary School had the best essay from the junior’s category and was deserving of the $5,000 cash prize.
An ecstatic Apparicio told OBSERVER media, she was surprised when she received a phone call announcing that she had won in her category and the wait was “nerve-wracking”.
“I am really happy because I never thought I would be able to do this or if I would have been able to win.”
The primary school student said she spent some time researching the topic and it got better once she decided on the concept of the essay.
From the 79 submissions in the secondary category, 15-year-old Amar Singh had the winning essay.
He was awarded a cash prize of $7,000.
The winner of the grand prize of $10,000 was Fiona Dickenson – a student of the Teacher Training Department at the Antigua State College (ASC).
Dickenson said the prize was a very good incentive for many who participated in the competition.
She also said the theme “Building an Economic Powerhouse, together” instilled a feeling of national pride.
(More in today’s Daily Observer)