- April 19, 2024
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Each year more than 125,000 sixth, seventh and eighth-grade students enter the Veteran of Foreign War’s Patriot’s Pen youth essay contest in hopes of taking home first place, a trip to Washington D.C., and $5,000. This past week, one Ormond Beach student got a little bit closer to that title.
Kaylee Van Rij won first place for her district at the Voice of Democracy dinner held at the Debary VFW #8093oice of Democracy dinner held at the Debary VFW #8093 Jan. 9. The seventh-grader at St. Brendan's Catholic School was honored along with her fellow classmates, 2nd-place winner Meckenzie Navarra and third-place winner Antonio Moreno.
With just 400 words, the students were asked to answer the question "What does my freedom mean to me?" For Van Rij, her freedom represented her ability to just be herself.
"To me, freedom means the ability to express myself to who I choose," she wrote. "It means I have the option to speak out for what I believe in. Freedom is rooted it my everyday life."
According to the VFW's website, the essay contest encourages today's youth to explore America’s history, along with their own experiences and express their views based on a patriotic theme chosen by the VFW Commander-in-Chief.
