Three McCallie School juniors were among 10 local high school students to be honored as winners of the Freedoms Foundation Essay Contest.
The essays of McCallie’s Dean Magat, Sanghwa Rhee and Lynah Sherrill and seven other local students were chosen from 85 entries. Students from eight area high schools participated.
Entrants were required to write a 500- to 1,000-word essay on the topic, “If you could meet one of our nation’s founding fathers or mothers, who would it be and why?”
Essays were judged by members of the Freedoms Foundation Chattanooga Chapter. The 10 winners are invited to represent the Chattanooga Chapter April 11-14 at the Freedoms Foundation national campus in Valley Forge, Pa., to compete for the national award.
Freedoms Foundation is a non-profit education organization dedicated to helping students, teachers and citizens gain a greater awareness and appreciation of the principles of a free and democratic society. It holds educational and awards programs to foster citizenship through civics, U.S. history and youth leadership.
Additionally, junior Aakash Patel was awarded first prize this week in the Christopher Columbus Essay Contest. The competition was sponsored by the Judge David Campbell Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.