We would like to extend a huge thank you to every student, teacher, and community member who participated in and helped to support our contest this year. This annual challenge for students is one of the highlights of our programming and we are consistently inspired by the submissions we get from local students. Despite uncertain times amidst a global pandemic, students poured intention, care, and great thought into their submissions this year.
We could not be more proud to present our selected winners below! To view writing entries, click the linked text.
Grand Prize Winners
High School
Gayathri Viswanath
“Climate Change & Capitalism” (Essay)
9th Grade, Dougherty Valley High School
Middle School
Gabriella Bertot
“Our Planet” (Visual Art)
8th Grade, Orinda Intermediate School
MIDDLE SCHOOL VISUAL ART FIRST PRIZE:
Indie Lee
8th Grade, Orinda Intermediate School
MIDDLE SCHOOL WRITING:
Dr. Hisham Ahmed First Prize Award
Abigail Hui
6th Grade, Stanley Middle School
HIGH SCHOOL VISUAL ART
Persephone Reynolds First Prize Award:
Cindy Zhou
“Serenity”
10th Grade, Dougherty Valley High School
Honorable Mentions:
By Shaianne Sampaio
7th Grade—Martinez Junior High School
By: Kristina Strazhnikov
10th Grade—Northgate High School
By Shamy Etheart
12th Grade—Freedom High School
High School Creative Writing Honorable Mention:
“The Cloaked Saviors”
Tala Kabbani
11th Grade, Northgate High School
High School Essay Honorable Mention:
“Our Planet, Our Problem”
Elaine Yang
12th Grade, Dougherty Valley High School
Middle School Essay Honorable Mention:
“Our Mother, Our Earth”
Zain Memon
8th Grade, Adams Middle School
Middle School Essay Honorable Mention:
“Lesson Learned”
Sofia Ahrens
7th Grade, Joaquin Moraga Intermediate School
Youth Activist Grant Awards:
In honor of our 50th Year Anniversary in 2019, the Peace Center created its first annual Youth Activist Grant Award, to accompany the Art and Writing Challenge. We are excited to bring this grant back for this year! We are consistently inspired by the tireless dedication of young people in our community fighting for the betterment of all and working to support our most marginalized groups. Every single day, young people are recognizing the power and potential they have for being true catalysts for positive change and we want to recognize those leading the charge.
The community was invited to nominate a youth organization, an individual, or a group of young people, grades 6-12, that showed exemplary leadership and dedication for social justice, organizing, and human rights. This year, two winners were selected—Mia Portner, a senior at Las Lomas High School, and seventh grader from Mno Grant School, Jacklyn Raya.
Jacklyn Raya
7th Grade, Mno Grant School
This past year, Jacklyn proved herself to be a natural leader at her school around the climate movement. Her 6th grade teacher at Mno Grant School, Ms. Barnes noted, “When Mno Grant sixth graders decided to host a Virtual School Earth Week, just a couple weeks after our school’s Spring Break, Jacklyn showed dedication and leadership that inspired other students to follow in her footsteps. She read the book, 50 ways to Save the Bees, and was inspired to figure out how each of us from home could do our part to protect native pollinators. She suggested we have a Save The Bees Day which was our school’s first Virtual Earth Day of the week.”
Jacklyn was one of the students voted by her peers as a leader in learning about environmental topics. Her creativity, drive, and passion for climate justice inspired not only her classmates but teachers, families, and community members. We’re excited to keep up with Jacklyn’s work and see where the future takes her.
Mia Portner
12th Grade, Las Lomas High School
As a senior at Las Lomas last year, Mia was responsible for organizing a fundraiser called “Art for Australia.” She encouraged visual art students to create work that would be sold at a silent auction to support the healing of Australian wildlife and ecosystems after the devastating fires. She called for student performers—musicians, singers, actors, poets—to perform the night of the event.
As a result, Mia and her club “Extinction Rebellion” raised over $1500! Mia is known as one of the leading activists for environmental change at Las Lomas, participating in protest marches and organizing student walkouts.” Mia is also heavily involved in equity work on campus, encouraging education and dialogues around feminism. We are thankful for students like Mia who go above and beyond to put intention and care into the community.