Arkansas Peace Week Essay Contest Finalist Announced
LITTLE ROCK: Arkansas Peace Week is pleased to announce the finalist for its Youth Essay Contest
Award winners from the contest will be announced at an event at the Arkansas State Capitol Rotunda on September 23, at 11:00AM. Essay winners from each age group are invited to read their essays at this event. The event is free and open to the public.
We received over 300 essay entries from all over the state. We thank all our entrants. They have shown great skill in writing their essays, more importantly they have contributed to the critical work of peacemaking.
The Arkansas Peace Week Essay Contest, for 7th – 12 Grade Students, featured essays on the theme:
- “In 2022 the FBI reported that Arkansas has the nation’s 4th highest rate of violent crime. How has violence impacted you and your communities? What can be done to reduce violence in Arkansas?”
Following are our Finalists.
7th Grade Finalists
- Amelia Grisham - A Safe Place - Hot Springs Junior Academy
- Evalyn Brewer - Loss of Empathy - Grimsley Jr High
- Freya Harris - Peace Week - Westside School District
- Kami Perry - My look at a less violent Arkansas - Hazen High School
- Kylie Rodriguez - Volunteering Vanquishes Violence – Homeschool, Cabot
- Riya Nandhakumar - STOP the violent crimes! - Grimsley Junior High School
8th Grade Finalists
- Adam - York - Arkansas Violence - Joe T Robinson Middle School
- Brogan - Fountain - Peace Week Essay - Joe T Robinson Middle School
- Demetrick - Tidwell - Talking About Peace Week - Dumbar Magnet Middle School
- Madison Prescott-Springfield - Pease Week Essay - Joe T Robinson Middle School
- Nora Gonzales - Violence in my School - Annie Camp Junior High School
- Rory Strasser - Arkansas Has A Problem - Jacksonville Middle School
9th Grade Finalists
- Annaleigh Mead - The Fight Towards a better America - Southside Junior High School
- Annaliese Brown - Violence in a Community - Woodlawn High School
- Henry Lopez - A change needed to be made - Southside Junior High School
- Isabelle Gray - Bullying - Hazen High School
- Madison Reed - Help for the Children and the Uncapable - Southside Junior High School
- Michael Bowman - States Not United - Hazen High School
10th Grade Finalists
- Alexandria Evans - Keep Arkansas Peaceful - White Hall High School
- Angel Velazquez - Crime Rates Issue And How It Affects Us The Community - White Hall High School
- Aynslea Stokes - The Truth about Arkansas - Southside School District
- Brayden Murphy - Celebrating and Promoting Peace through Arkansas Peace Week - Jonesboro High School
- Keira McKinley - Reducing Violence - White Hall High School
- Nathalie Young - Looking Within - Russellville High School
11th Grade Finalists
- Abigail Myrick - The Impact of Violence - Guy Perkins High School
- Ava Gillespie - It's Time To Make A Difference - Russellville High School
- Betsy McClure - Peace Essay - Little Rock Central High School
- Blanche Finzer - Little Rock Central High School
- Jaylyn Watts - Emotional Awareness - Guy Perkins High School
- Onterryan Kilpatrick - Shots Heard across the Town - Guy Perkins High School
- Riley Cantrell - how violence has effected me - White Hall High School
12th Grade Finalists
- Avrielle Dolph - Freedom of Peace - Russellville High School
- Belle McKelvey - Someone's Something - Little Rock Central High School
- Kaylah Atungulu - The Violence that Hides - Haas Hall Academy at the Jones Center
- Kennedi Scaife - My Vision of Peace - eStem High School
- Leah Hunter - A Peace in A Better Home - Little Rock Central High School
- Lucy Burks - Handling Violence - Little Rock Central High School