Students Win Prizes for Essays from Skirball Institute

Five San Fernando Valley high school students were awarded prizes in the Skirball Institute’s essay contest on “The Importance of Values in American Society.”

High school students throughout the Los Angeles Unified School District and the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles participated in separate competitions. Thirteen students from each were awarded prizes, which included one grand prize, $1,000; one first place, $250; one second place, $100, and 10 third place, $25.

Valley winners included Granada Hills High students Elizabeth J. Sparks, second place, and Robert Alexander Lipsett, Alexandra Schrift and Brian Evan Sieroty, third place. Also winning third place was Amanda Rachel Walzer of Grant High in Van Nuys.

$1,000 Awards

The $1,000 prizes went to Joel G. Aldape, 17, of Huntington Park High School, and Robert M. Bautista, 17, of Bishop Amat High School.

Serving as contest judges were Los Angeles Times columnist Jack Smith, KCBS-TV anchorwoman Tritia Toyota and novelist Irving Stone.

In the essay, students expounded upon the values that they believe are of greatest significance in the United States today. The essays were judged on the structure and presentation of the subject matter and the student’s ability to express his or her thoughts with clarity.

The goal of the Skirball Institute of Los Angeles, established by the American Jewish Committee in 1985, is to stimulate discussion about the importance of fostering positive attitudes and behavior concerning world peace, family structure and honesty. The institute sponsors a series of conferences and seminars that provide a forum for the discussion of the importance of values.

Aldape’s essay, titled “National Cement,” spoke of the importance of a strong work ethic and argued that accepting risks and challenges are the determining elements for success.

Bautista’s “The Great Depression and the Value of Social Responsibility” suggests that despite our individualistic society, the United States is a kind and gentle nation where social responsibility still flourishes and industrial progress will not impede social progress.