Honors Student Wins Essay Contest

Abraham Smith, an eighth-grade honors student at Las Colinas School, wrote about why he is staying away from drugs and won the grand prize in a Camarillo Chamber of Commerce essay contest.

“My students were asked to enter one of three essay contests,” said Abraham’s honors English teacher Kathleen Broder. “Being the honors student that he is, Abraham entered all three and illustrated his incredible command of writing with the winning essay.”

Lin Holzinger, executive director of the chamber, said about 2,000 seventh- and eighth-grade students in the Pleasant Valley, Mesa Union and Somis Union school districts wrote essays stating why kids should say no to drugs.

The essay contest is held each year in conjunction with Red Ribbon Week, a program designed to encourage students to stay away from drugs and alcohol.

A panel of community judges read and evaluated all the essays before choosing Abraham as the winner.

“I was pretty excited and embarrassed when they announced that I won,” Abraham, 13, said.

The winning entry focused on how people can easily be persuaded to do drugs through peer pressure and role models.

“The movies and television try to make us believe that using drugs is acceptable, and many people don’t feel comfortable just saying no,” Abraham said.

He received a family trip to Disneyland and $100 in spending money.