New Hampshire Students Win Bicentennial Celebration Essay Contest

CONCORD, N.H. - Students from across New Hampshire were announced as winners of the New Hampshire State House Bicentennial Commission essay contest this week. As part of the bicentennial celebration of the New Hampshire State House on May 16, students were invited to share their thoughts, in essay form, about the State House and its meaning.

The entries were submitted regionally and judges – including court justices, executive councilors, and others – reviewed 113 contributions from students; 23 were issued awards and citations for their work.

On Wednesday, many of the students were at the State House to receive the awards from Gov. Chris Sununu and Frank Edelblut, the commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Education. Also in attendance were parents, school officials, House Speaker Gene Chandler, New Hampshire Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Lynn, state Rep. Renny Cushing, the chairman of commission, all five executive councilors, current House Clerk Paul Smith, Karen Wadsworth, the retired house clerk, as well as others.

“The commission essay contest awards were not just a historic event for the students,” said Stephen Berwick of the New Hampshire Department of Education, the org’s appointee to the commission. “It was a historic event for the state – it was only the second time all of the state’s top officials signed citations together. The citation, each time, was to reward excellent students.”

Three winners were selected from each age group (elementary, middle, and high school); others were awarded citations for their submissions.

Winners, High School

• 1st: Adelaide Canney, Pinkerton Academy, Derry
• 2nd: Cam Magner, Timberlane High School, Plaistow
• 3rd: Jillian LeVeille, Bedford High School, Bedford

Winners, Middle School

• 1st: Frank Zhou, Ross A. Lurgio Middle School, Bedford
• 2nd: James Collins, Timberlane Regional Middle School, Plaistow
• 3rd: Erin Stevens, Hudson Middle School, Hudson

Winners, Elementary School

• 1st: Michael Chambers, Atkinson Academy, Atkinson
• 2nd: Colin McCarthy, Memorial Elementary School, Bedford
• 3rd: Hunter LeBlanc, Compass Classical Academy, Franklin

Citations Winners

• Madeline Cole, Memorial Elementary School, Bedford
• Aribella Medbery, Richards Elementary School, Newport
• Isabelle Leite, Hillside Elementary School, Berlin
• Megan Knall, Hillside Elementary School, Berlin
• Leo Zheng, Hillside Elementary School, Berlin
• Emma Davidson, Northfield Elementary School, Northfield
• Christopher Ingham, Compass Classical Academy, Franklin
• Nathaniel Johnson, Beech Hill School, Hopkinton
• Collin Atwell, Beech Hill School, Hopkinton
• Nathaniel Decker, Beech Hill School, Hopkinton
• Gregory Peter Watson, Beech Hill School, Hopkinton
• Teirra Walsh, Compass Classical Academy, Franklin
• Elizabeth St. Cyr, Franklin Middle School, Franklin
• Hennessy Goodwin, Compass Classical Academy, Franklin