HAMPSTEAD — A Hampstead student will represent the state in the Veterans of Foreign Wars Patriot's Pen contest.
Emma-Leigh Wilson, 14, a student at Hampstead Middle School, won the state-level contest and has advanced to the national level with her essay "Honoring the Bearers of Liberty." Students had to answer the question, "When is the right time to honor our heroes?"
"When I first started this essay, I really didn't know what I was going to write," she said, "until I came up with the idea that you honor them every day."
Her essay touches on the many ways people honor heroes daily, from thinking about them to reciting the Soldier's Prayer to saying the Pledge of Allegiance.
"The final way people honor heroes is by visiting the defenders of freedom who passed away," she wrote. "Seeing their graves in cemeteries shows that people still care about what they did to make the country the way it is today, free."
Emma-Leigh won $650 and a plaque at the state level, and could win between $1,000 and $10,000, depending on where she places nationally.
"I was shocked when it got to the state level because my writing pieces don't really win a lot," she said. "I wasn't used to a lot of the attention."
Emma-Leigh wants to be an author, and has written several fantasy and science fiction stories she hopes to get published.
She met many veterans at a banquet after winning the statewide contest.
"They all said I did a very great job, and they liked my essay and it made them feel good about themselves," she said. "It spoke the truth about them. Not a lot of people realize what they do and it's more important than you think."
Hampstead Middle School and the Hampstead VFW post had never entered the contest before. Language arts and history teacher Katherine Wolff had her students write the essay for a grade. Students who wanted to submit it to the contest could, she said. About 40 students submitted essays, she said.
"I'm very proud, obviously, of Emma, but of all the students who entered," Principal Patti Grassbaugh said.
Emma-Leigh is heading to Pinkerton Academy next year, and said she would enter any other patriotic contests she spotted.
"Getting your writing piece to make people feel good, it makes me very happy," she said. "You're doing something for the community."
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