Dr. Martin Luther King Day Inspires Memphis Campus Students As Part of MLK Day Essay Contest
To commemorate MLK Day, Remington College – Memphis Campus organized a “Martin Luther King, Jr., ‘I Have a Dream’ Essay Contest.” The contest challenged all current students to complete Dr. King’s famous statement, “I have a dream….” based on their own backgrounds and life experiences.
The Campus received 36 entries by the January 7 deadline. Entries were judged by English instructor Coleman Garrett, Speech instructor Chris Taylor, and Education Department Administrative Assistant Patricia Zert.
Three winners were announced on January 19. The first-place award went to LeShari D. Howell, a first-year Business Office Management student who is scheduled to graduate in July 2011. The two second-place winners were Cosmetology student Kendra Bolton and Business Administration student Mary Garrett. Both are scheduled to graduate in the summer of 2010.
The three winners received gift cards for fuel (a $50 card and two $25 cards), along with award ribbons. A copy of the winning essay is presented here. (Click the image below to read the winning essay.)
“I was impressed at how my students exhibited the writing skills they learned in class, and I was enlightened because the entries were so thought provoking. I appreciated how the students embodied Dr. King’s dream in their own way and supplemented it with their personal desires and hopes for the future,” said Mr. Garrett.
“It was great to see the fruits of our instructional labors displayed in the contest—especially since these essays were created by our students outside the usual class assignment environment,” added Mr. Taylor.
Ms. Zert noted, “The students put their hearts and souls into these essays. I could feel pain, joy, sorrow, frustration, and fear in their words. There is such a deep desire in this group to have the world be a better place for everyone, now and in the future. Our school and our community cannot help but benefit from their caring.”