Essay Contest Winners!!
In honor of Peace Corps 45th anniversary celebrations, the VAC commitee and a commitee
of Volunteers headed by Todd Shealy, Katlin
McDonough, and Jesse Warner, organized the
first ever English essay contest for Macedonian students. Many essays were submitted
and each region: Kicevo, Kriva Planka, Ohrid,
Skopje, and Veles had winners as well as 3
overall winners in each of 3 categories: 7th8th grade, 9th-10th grade, and 11th-12th
grade.
The following is a press release with details on
the contest and Peace Corps:
SKOPJE, June 2, 2006 – Several United
States Peace Corps Volunteers serving in Macedonia, in cooperation with public schools
throughout the country, organized the first
national Macedonian Youth and Volunteerism
English Essay Contest.
This national contest was one of several special events and observances during 2006 to
mark the 45th Anniversary of the Peace Corps,
a U.S. Government volunteer service agency
working to promote peace, development and
friendship throughout the world.
The goals of the essay contest were to promote
young people’s interest in volunteerism, to encourage and develop good English writing
skills, and to inform the public about the work
of the Peace Corps in Macedonia. Students
from grades 7 to 12 participated in the competition. Peace Corps Volunteers and Macedonian teachers worked together to provide English writing workshops, and assisted students
in submitting essays.
A total of 194 students participated in the program. The essays were judged and the winners were selected in three categories at local
and national levels.
On June 2, a National Awards Ceremony was
held at the Peace Corps Macedonia office in
Skopje. U.S. Ambassador Gillian Milovanovic presented awards to the three winners:
Monika Spasik, representing the Vasil Glavnov Primary School from Veles; Zane Churlinovska of the Goce Delchev Secondary
School in Valandovo; and Mirjana Stanoevska, from the Sveti Naum Ohridski Secondary School in Makedonski Brod. There was
one national winner for each of the following
categories: 7th – 8th grade; 9th – 10th grade;
and 11th – 12th grade.
Ambassador Milovanovic presented each winner an award certificate from the Peace Corps
framed by the Odzachar Gallery in Skopje; a
World Almanac from the U.S. Embassy; an
Oxford Wordpower English Dictionary from
The English Center; prizes from Mobimak;
and two free overnight stays in Ohrid provided by Hotel Inex Gorica, Hotel Granit, and
Hotel Doncho.
Other local companies that supported the essay contest with in-kind donations included
TelePICA and Pivara Skopje.
The Peace Corps was founded in March 1961,
during the administration of President John F.
Kennedy. To this day, the three original goals
articulated by the Peace Corps remain the
same:
Volume 4, issue 2
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