ORION TWP. — Three St. Joseph School eighth graders won awards in the 2023-24 America & Me Essay Contest.
First place winner was Madeline Sharum of Oxford. Madeline wrote about her mother, Breana Sharum, and described her as “brave, caring, and loving.”
“In 2016, she was diagnosed with cancer. I was in first grade and six years old. The previous years, both of my grandmas had passed because of cancer, and now that my mother had it, I was so frightened. In the end, she fought through it and became healthy again,” Madeline wrote. Second place winner was Brandon Bieszki of Oakland Township, who wrote about his grandfather, Nelson Condis.
“When he was 19, he was living in Cuba with his family. My grandfather and his cousin wanted to leave for a better life in America, but it was illegal to try escaping the country. Despite this, he was determined to find a better opportunity, so after nightfall, they boarded a small rowboat and rowed about 300 miles to Jamaica,” Brandon wrote.
Third place winner was Nevaeh Vieira of Lake Orion, who wrote about her mother, Kristina, who she called “brave.”
She has faced many obstacles in life such as when she was a sergeant in the military, she was attacked multiple times when she was deployed in South Korea, causing an injury in her neck. When she was a cop, she took down an active shooter by herself,” Vieira wrote.
The winners will be honored at the SJS honors ceremony in June. The first-place winner’s essay advanced to the statewide competition, from which the top 10 entries in the state were selected. The statewide winners have been chosen.
Each winner receives a certificate. This is the 54th year of the contest, sponsored by Farm Bureau Insurance. – J.N.