School District Students Honored for Outstanding Artistic, Writing Talents During 2019 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Day Contests
Aiken, SC (01/21/2019) — The Aiken County Public School District, in partnership with Aiken Technical College and the University of South Carolina Aiken, is pleased to announce the winners of the 2019 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Day Essay and Creative Visual Posters Contests.
Winners of this year's contests were selected by representatives of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Steering Committee. Contest winners will be recognized during the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Celebration scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 27, 2019, at 3 p.m., in the USC Aiken Convocation Center.
The keynote address for the event will be delivered by Patricia Russell-McCloud, a dynamic public speaker and former Federal Communications Commission attorney who speaks to more than 100,000 people annually. Russell-McCloud studied at Harvard University, earned a Juris Doctorate degree at the Howard University School of Law in Washington, D.C., and earned her undergraduate degree at Kentucky State University.
Kindergarten through 5th grade students in Aiken County participated in the creative visual poster contest. Their original designs represented what the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday means to them.
Winning entries for kindergarten to 2nd grade were submitted by the following students:
• First: Bentley Huffman, Mossy Creek Elementary School
• Second: Nicole Rhodes, Mossy Creek Elementary School
• Third: Hope Callahan, Mossy Creek Elementary School
Winning entries for 3rd - 5th Grade were submitted by the following students:
• First: Ezekiel Green, Mossy Creek Elementary School
• Second: Katie Gillespie, Mossy Creek Elementary School
• Third: Jayke Carson, Ridge Spring-Monetta Elementary School
Students who participated in the 6th - 12th-grade essay contest were asked to explain what a selected quote from Dr. King meant to them. The quote chosen by the members of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Steering Committee was: "The time is always right to do what is right."
Middle school students' essays could not exceed 1,000 words, while the maximum word count for high school essays was 1,500 words.
Winning entries for middle school were submitted by the following students:
• First: Karsyn Newbegin, LBC Middle School
• Second: Mya D. Holston, Kennedy Middle School
• Third: Savill Jensen, North Augusta Middle School
Winning entries for high school were submitted by the following students:
• First: Jahleel Johnson, Aiken High School
• Second: Amber McGruder, North Augusta High School
• Third: Robert Morris, Aiken High School
All students in Aiken County, whether they attend a public or private school or are homeschooled, were eligible to participate in the contests.
The first-, second-, and third-place winners in each category and their families are invited to attend the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Celebration where they will be seated in an area designated for honorees. The first-place winner of each category will receive a grand prize.
Winning poster entries will also be displayed in the lobby of the USC Aiken Convocation Center during the community celebration.
Aiken Technical College and USC Aiken serve as cosponsors for the annual celebration.