Malabar fifth-grader Lily Weeks looks over her Veterans Day essay with Kim Howell, left, a Malabar cook and Elks Club member, and guidance counselor Vicki Dye.
A Malabar Intermediate School fifth-grader who aspires to be a pediatric oncologist someday is one of the top winners in a Veterans Day essay contest sponsored by the Elks Club.
Lily Weeks placed third among 1,100 entries submitted by students in 11 area school districts.
Kim Howell, a cook at Malabar and an Elks member, told language arts teacher Nancy Jones about the contest last fall. Jones used the essay competition as a classroom project.
“It took me several days to write it,” Lily said of her essay. “I worked on it at school mostly, but a little bit at home.”
Lily’s essay included how proud she is of her grandfather’s service in the U.S. Air Force during World War II. She submitted her essay a couple of days before Christmas but found out only last week that she was a winner. Howell relayed the word after the conrtest results were announced at the Elks state convention in Columbus earlier this month.
“Language arts is my favorite subject – that and reading,” Lily said. “I like to write stories, sometimes poetry.”
Malabar counselor Vicki Dye noted that Lily is in an advanced placement language arts class. Although a fifth-grader, she is in the sixth-grade language arts class.
“I’m very proud of Lily,” Dye said.
“I think the whole school is proud of her,” Howell added.
The essay contest, part of the Elks’ Americanism project, is designed to promote patriotism among young people. It was open to students in Lexington, Shelby, Elyria, Galion, Bucyrus, Sandusky, Wooster, Bellevue, Ashland, Mount Vernon and Mansfield.
Lily, who said she would like to be a pediatrician or a pediatric oncologist someday, earned a $50 prize from the Elks. Asked what she planned to do with her winnings, she pointed to the pink-and-white tennis shoes she was wearing.
“I bought these,” she said, smiling.
Here is Lily’s essay:
“What Veterans Day Means to Me”
Veterans Day means a lot to me and everyone else in the United States. It is an important day and a time to be thankful for the soldiers that are protecting our beloved country. We should honor all of the soldiers in our armed forces that are fighting or have fought for our country’s freedom.
First of all, it is a time to be grateful for our freedom. Soldiers gave and are risking their lives so we can keep our freedom in the United States. We should all be thankful that we have veterans who are fighting or who at one time have fought for our country.
Secondly, Veterans Day is the day we honor the selfless soldiers who have served, are serving, or have passed away serving us. We honor the bravery and courage they have had and needed to serve and protect our country. By honoring our veterans we are showing how much we appreciate them and their service.
Most of all, I am proud that Veterans Day honors my Grandpa Lowell. He fought in World War II and is now a retired U.S. Air Force veteran. My family and I are extremely proud of him, our other family members and anyone else who has served in the U.S. armed forces.