The Chattanooga winner of the Third Annual Federal Court Civics Essay Contest will be honored at a ceremony at the Joel W. Solomon United States Courthouse in Chattanooga on Tuesday at 9 a.m.
The 2021 divisional winner is Lisa Lin, a rising tenth grade student at Signal Mountain High School.
Ms. Lin previously won the Hamilton County Spelling Bee in 2017, and went on to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. She is also on the Signal Mountain track team and an avid reader. Ms. Lin will receive an iPad and case as a prize at the celebration.
The essay contest was open to public, private, and home school high school students in 24 East Tennessee counties. The Court’s Civics and Outreach Committee and the Chattanooga chapter of the Federal Bar Association sponsored the contest.
This year’s essay prompt asked what it means to support and defend the Constitution, and whether the oath is different for different groups. Ms. Lin’s essay discussed the enduring value of oaths in different aspects of American civic life, noting that taking an oath allows people to “better understand the circumstances they are entering and what it means to protect the Constitution.”
The local essay contests were coordinated with the national essay contest sponsored by the Federal Bar Association. More information is posted on the Court’s Connections website at connections.tned.uscourts.gov.