Granite City High School student wins essay contest
Roy to present work at Patriots in the Park celebration
"It was a wonderful surprise," Roy said. "It was something I wanted to do, but I wasn't sure if I could do it."
Roy, who graduated from Granite City High School this year, will read her award winning essay, "I'm Proud to be an American" at the Patriots in the Park Celebration on Friday at Coolidge Middle School."I think it will be exciting," she said. "It'll be the biggest crowd I've spoken in front of. I admire patriotism a lot, and I'm very happy that a lot of people come to Patriots in the Park."
The Patriots in the Park Committee and a group of Granite City school teachers judged the essays in the last week of May, said Granite City Park District Executive Director Dave Williams. Williams said the board announced the winner in late May.
According to Roy, each student in Granite City High School's senior composition classes penned an essay for the contest. Roy's essay concentrated on the diversity which defines America.
"I wrote about people like Rosa Parks, JFK (John F. Kennedy) and Abraham Lincoln," she said. "We're one country, one people, all the same under the flag."
Roy took advanced composition under Joann Aleman, and she says Aleman's instruction helped her improve her writing skills.
"Mrs. Aleman really pushed me," Roy said. "She's an excellent proofreader, and she told us to write whatever comes to mind. She wanted us to use pictures to make the essay come to life and help the reader see things."
Roy said winning the her first essay contest "was a confidence booster."
"I don't write stories, I write poetry," she said. "I might have found something I'm really good at. It shows if you apply yourself, you'll do fine."
