Two Students Win "Education Matters!" Essay Contest
Monday June 08, 2009
Kingston, TN - Two students at Walnut Hill Elementary in Harriman each received a $50 U.S. Savings Bond on May 26, 2009, for their essays on "Why education matters to me." The Roane Alliance sponsored the contest as part of its "Education Matters!" initiative and the winners, Andrew Booth a fifth grader and Katlin Cruz a fourth grader, received their awards at a school assembly.
The essay contest was announced at the Walnut Hill Elementary Career Fair on May 18, by Allen Lutz, The Roane Alliance's Education and Workforce Development Specialist. Lutz was meeting with fourth and fifth grade students to talk about the importance of education and graduating from high school. The students also learned that continuing their education can provide them with many benefits throughout their lives.
"The benefits of education include not only increased financial rewards," Lutz told the students, "but also more career opportunities to do what you want to do, greater employability, increased quality of life, improved health and living longer." He also emphasized that "these benefits can be, and usually are, passed on to one's children and grandchildren by teaching and emphasizing the value of education within a family." At the end of the "Education Matters!" discussion with the students, they were given the opportunity to enter the essay contest.
In Katlin Cruz's essay, she wrote that education "teaches you how to read, write, count, divide, add, and subtract. And a lot of other things. But education also helps you learn how to be good at a job to make a living." Katlin ends her essay with the words, "So we will have education. And have a house, car, food, job, and clothes. So that is why education is very very very important to me. And so that is the reason we all need to go to school."
In his essay, Andrew Booth wrote that education will help him to be "someone in life" and he likes "feeling proud when you get your grade card." Andrew is also setting goals: "I want to be a vet. It requires elementary, middle and high school graduation." He also wants to go to college and earn a master's degree. "If I got the savings bond, I would put it in the bank and let it mature," he adds, "I really need this savings bond because college is really really expensive."
In addition to meeting with students, Lutz works within the community to promote the value of education. He worked with Roane County Schools planning the high school career fair, operated an "Education Matters!" booth at the Thunder Road Festival in Rockwood and the Polk Salad Festival in Harriman, led "focus groups" with high school students to create a brochure promoting industrial trade opportunities, and met with many Roane County community and professional organizations. Community groups can schedule an "Education Matters!" presentation for adults or students by contacting Allen Lutz at The Roane Alliance (865) 376-2093.
The Roane Alliance is Roane County's economic development organization and consists of both public and private organizations, including the Roane County Chamber of Commerce, the Roane County Industrial Development Board and the Roane County Visitors Bureau. The Education Matters! Initiative is funded by Innovation Valley, a Knoxville/Oak Ridge regional economic development effort in which the Alliance is a partner.
