Students win World Citizenship Essay awards

Three Asheville Christian Academy seniors have won college scholarships in the 2017 World Citizenship Essay Contest, sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Black Mountain/Swannanoa.

     First place honors, and a $2,000 scholarship to the college of his choice, went to Drew Sikkink.  Drew and his fellow classmates, accompanied by their parents and other family members, read their essays at the Kiwanis meeting Oct. 19.

      In his winning essay, Drew wrote: “Fifteen billion eyes view this planet, and though my eyes make up a miniscule proportion of that number, they are related to the other fifteen billion.  We share emotions, fears, dreams and experiences, regardless of the language they are thought in.  I cannot ignore the eyes of the world, engrossed in my own view and missing the other numerous pairs of eyes.” 

Drew wrote that the experience of hosting three foreign exchange students from Brazil, China and Spain opened his eyes, not just to the cultural differences, but also to the same basic human characteristics shared by all peoples of the world.

     Two $1,500 scholarships went to the other finalists, Morgan Ciochina and Evan Fisher. 

      The three winning essays were chosen from 18 submitted by students from Owen High School, the Community School, the Asheville Christian School and the Home School Association.  The essays are evaluated on three criteria:  insights into the meaning of world citizenship, literary quality and reflections on personal experience.  Members of the Kiwanis Club’s International Understanding Committee conduct the essay contest every year.