Woodland Joint Unified School District students win city’s MLK essay contest
Carlos Guerrero posted: "Woodland Joint Unified School District students were winners of a city of Woodland essay contest celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. late last month. According to a district press release, in January, the city of Woodland asked Woodland students in gra"
Woodland Joint Unified School District students were winners of a city of Woodland essay contest celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. late last month.
According to a district press release, in January, the city of Woodland asked Woodland students in grades 7 - 12 to rewrite Dr. King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech in their own words as part of an essay contest.
After reviewing all the entries, the city selected its top four winning essays.
First place: Sri Vaddella, a 10th-grade student at Pioneer High School.
Second place: Melanie Salazar, an 11th-grade student at Pioneer High School.
Third place: Sahil Zeb, an 11th-grade student at Woodland High School.
Honorable Mention: Kaylee Kacho, an 8th-grade student at Douglass Middle School.
"I was incredibly shocked and grateful when I learned that I had won," said first-place winner Sri Vaddella. "I genuinely wasn't expecting to win. It was a wonderful opportunity and helped bring me closer to the community of Woodland."
As the first-place winner, Sri was invited to read her essay at the Woodland City Council meeting on Jan. 16.
The WJUSD Board of Trustees also recognized the students for their accomplishments at its January Board meeting and presented them with a Board resolution honoring Jan. 15 as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
"The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. devoted his life to fighting segregation and injustice by non-violent means and is an outstanding example of courageous leadership in the face of unrelenting violence and harassment," stated Board Vice President Deborah Bautista Zavala, reading from the resolution before presenting it to students.
Second-place winner Melanie Salazar wrote about education and her perspectives on bullying and discrimination at school.
"I have never wanted to be a bystander, so seeing that I had a chance to talk about dreams inspired me to talk about my own dream to speak about how I feel when I see other people suffering," Salazar said. "When I saw that I won an award, I felt recognized. I go by the words of my Spanish teacher, Delia Zamudio when I say that recognition, especially with topics like dreams, is already an award itself, knowing that others will read what I want to advocate for."
Third-place winner Sahil Zeb wrote about the topic of colorism.
"My inspiration was that in the current day and age, there are so many people who would kill because of skin color, which is unjust and twisted," Zeb said. "Just being more irrational and irritated towards someone with a different shade than you is wrong."
Kaylee Kacho of Douglass Middle School won Honorable Mention for an essay about Dr. King's non-violent approach toward achieving social justice.
"In my essay, I wrote about my take on Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have A Dream' speech," Kacho said. "My inspiration was Martin Luther King Jr.'s peaceful teachings and his will to fight for what he believed in. My feelings towards winning my award were me being proud of myself and grateful for the chance to be a part of this."
City of Woodland Communication & Strategic Policies Manager Spencer Bowen commended the students for their insightful essays.
"Every day, Woodland's young people remind us to fight for a more just and inclusive community," he said. "We were excited to partner with WJUSD on this contest to honor Dr. King and the City congratulates the winners for their thoughtful and impactful work."
Superintendent Elodia Ortega-Lampkin said the district is proud of the winners and proud of all students who submitted an essay for the contest.
"We are tremendously proud of our students for participating in the City's essay contest, for their accomplishment in writing, and for their desire to honor the words and teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.," Ortega-Lampkin said.
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