Local Students Win CHET Dream Big! Competition

The statewide 2018 CHET Dream Big! Competition, which asks students to share their dreams about life after college through drawings and essays, selected 48 winners from across the state out of more than 3,000 entries, State Treasurer Denise L. Nappier announced today.

Aspiring artists, architects, construction workers, chefs, college professors, nurses, engineers, government officials, judges, journalists, photographers, police officers, detectives, teachers, video game designers, graphic designers, and more participated in this year’s competition, which drew entries from schools in 92 of the State’s 169 municipalities. The topic of equality, both gender and racial equality, was prominent in the entries.

John Gerlach, a student at Ellington Middle School in Ellington is one of four grand prize winners and will receive a $1,000 contribution to a CHET college savings account. John won for his essay in which he writes about wanting to be a good father and raise good children. 44 additional students in kindergarten through eighth grade will receive $500 contributions including the following East Windsor, Tolland and Mansfield students:

• Sahana Satheesh, Broad Brook Elementary School, Broad Brook
• Sathya Satheesh, Broad Brook Elementary School, Broad Brook
• Nathaniel Babcock, Birch Grove Primary School, Tolland
  
• Kyleigh Lapsis, Mansfield Middle School, Mansfield

The winners were honored at a special reception at the Connecticut Science Center on Friday, June 1. Treasurer Nappier, Trustee of the Connecticut Higher Education Trust (CHET), presented certificates to each student winner and celebrated the competition’s 11th anniversary with a festive birthday cake.

“With such amazing, thoughtful drawings and essays I know our future is in good hands,” Treasurer Nappier said.

“And here’s a tip to the parents and family friends of the winners,” she added. “Save early and watch the magic of compound interest! As your children grow, we encourage you to think about saving for college to enable them to reach their goals.”

Since inception, the CHET Dream Big! Competition has made contributions to 772 accounts, totaling more than $265,000. More than 34,000 Connecticut students have shared their college dreams in Dream Big! entries.

For the Dream Big! Competition, kindergarteners through third graders were asked to share artwork depicting what they want to do after they go to college. Fourth through eighth grade students were asked to answer in a 250 word essay how they will change the world after college.

Dream Big! entries were judged within four grade groups — K-1, 2-3, 4-5, and 6-8 — based on theme, originality and creativity. Drawings also were evaluated based on artistic design and attractiveness with essays judged on overall grammar, spelling and punctuation.

Six $500 School Prizes Awarded to Top Participating Schools

Six schools won a $500 prize for having the highest percentage of student submissions.

“We view the Dream Big! competition as a wonderful opportunity for our students to begin envisioning college as part of their future. It also provides us with a tool to give information to parents about the importance of beginning to save for this investment in their children's education,” said Jon Romeo, Principal of Gainfield Elementary School in Southbury. Gainfield is a first-time school winner having increased the number of student entries from just four in 2017 to 324 in 2018.

The other school winners include Vance Village Elementary School in New Britain; Madison Elementary School, Bridgeport; George Hersey Robertson School, Coventry; North Stonington Elementary School, North Stonington; and Brooklyn Middle School, Brooklyn, also a first-time winner.

The Dream Big! Competition is sponsored by the State Treasurer’s Office, TIAA-CREF Tuition Financing, Inc. (TFI) and CHET. It is funded by TFI, the program manager; no state funds are used for awards issued through the Dream Big! Competition.

A full list of student winners follows. Winning entries will be viewable at: www.chetdreambig.com.

About CHET

The Connecticut Higher Education Trust (CHET) 529 college savings plan was established in 1997 and has enjoyed steady growth, surpassing $3.6 billion in assets under management and more than 150,000 accounts. In addition, since CHET’s inception, more than $1.8 billion in qualified withdrawals have been taken to cover college costs for approximately 50,000 students attending nearly every public and private college in Connecticut and several out-of-state schools.

CHET offers tax advantages and some of the lowest fees in the country for a state-sponsored college savings account. Connecticut residents are allowed to deduct 529 contributions from their state income taxes – up to $5,000 for an individual or up to $10,000 for a married couple filing jointly. Investment earnings are exempt from state and federal taxes if used for qualified educational expenses.

CHET is administered by the Office of Connecticut State Treasurer Denise L. Nappier. The direct-sold plan, which offers the CHET Dream Big! Competition is managed by TIAA-CREF Tuition Financing, Inc. For more information about CHET Direct, visit www.aboutchet.com or call the customer service center at (866) 314-3939.

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