Writing is a fundamental skill that students will carry with them into the workplace, into college, and even into the military. In order to promote deep, creative thought, each year, Buckeye Community Hope Foundation sponsors a writing challenge. Each school may submit one writing entry per grade level. A panel of educators independently reads and scores those entries, using the Ohio Writing Rubric to score. We are excited to announce the winning entries for the 2024 Writing Challenge!
This year’s theme was “Profiles of Courage” and asked all students to reflect on what courage truly meant and to write about examples they saw in the literary texts they were given.
Each school was permitted to submit one student’s writing per grade level. All entries were then scored by a team of three educators on the Ohio State Writing Rubric. All of those scores were then used to determine the winners.
ELEMENTARY DIVISION (Grades 3-5)
Overall Third Grade Winner: Jaleel Peoples from Constellation Schools Eastside Arts Academy
Overall Fourth Grade Winner: Yasin Abdibasid from International Academy of Columbus
Overall Fifth Grade Winner: Laura Gyarki from Horizon Science Academy Elementary
The Overall Highest Elementary Entry was Laura Gyarki
MIDDLE SCHOOL DIVISION (Grades 6-8)
Overall Sixth Grade Winner: Lily Kleinhenz from Constellation Schools Eastside Arts Academy
Overall Seventh Grade Winner: Amram Hasan from International Academy of Columbus
Overall Eighth Grade Winner: Abena Boynes from Horizon Science Academy Columbus Middle School
The Overall Highest Middle School Entry was Lily Kleinhenz
HIGH SCHOOL DIVISION (Grades 9-12)
Overall Ninth Grade Winner: Jacob Meschke from Horizon Science Academy Lorain
Overall Tenth Grade Winner: Arelis Calzadilla from Focus North High School
Overall Eleventh Grade Winner: Julianne Osborne from Focus Southwest
Overall Twelfth Grade Winner: Dimitri Stokes
Overall Highest High School Entry was Arelis Calzadilla
Arelis also was the highest scoring entry of all entries received, regardless of age. Arelis’s essay confronted the idea of courage, in all its forms. She spoke of moral courage, physical courage and spiritual courage by reading and reacting to several pieces of literature. Arelis’s final sentence sums up her sophisticated view of the world: “…courage comes in various forms, and it is the ability to confront fear and adversity that ultimately shapes our character and defines our journey through life.”
