New Canaan Country School sixth grade student Juliet Chattaway's essay was among the 15 winning essays selected by U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy in his seventh annual "Martin Luther King Jr. Day Essay Challenge."
The senator recognized all of the winners at a ceremony that took place Feb. 11 in Middletown.
"I was really excited when I found out," said Juliet, a resident of Darien. "I was particularly happy because I worked really hard on this. I wrote one whole essay and then my teacher and my mom told me that it sounded like I was writing what I thought everyone wanted me to write. So I completely scrapped that essay and started all over again. In the second one, I wrote only what I felt, in my own words, and it came really easily and naturally."
Her essay was chosen from close to 2,000 entries submitted by elementary, middle, and high school students from across Connecticut reflecting on King's dream and their own aspirations.
"I am very pleased that Juliet's essay was selected," said sixth grade teacher Mauricia Gardiner who facilitated her class's submissions to the contest. "She has put a lot of work into learning how to express her ideas effectively. In her second essay, she found her voice and I was so proud of her for putting in the extra time and energy. This is a great outcome of that effort and an honor to be recognized."
The winning essays are on display in Murphy’s Hartford office and on his website.
Eva Maniatty of Darien has been named to the Fall 2022 Term Dean’s List at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. To be placed on the Dean’s List, an undergraduate student must have had full-time status and attained a minimum grade point average of 3.5, based on at least 12 graded credits.
Morgan Hampton of Darien was named to Ithaca (N.Y.) College's Fall 2022 Dean's List. Home to some 5,200 students, the college offers more than 70 degree programs in its schools of business; communications; humanities and sciences; health sciences and human performance; and music, theater and dance.
Natalie Boston, Connor Darby, Sam Gleason and Liana Seale, all of Darien, were named to the Dean's List at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburgh, Va., for the fall 2022 semester. In order to achieve Dean's List status, a full-time degree seeking undergraduate student must take at least 12 credit hours and earn a 3.6 Quality Point Average during the semester.
Alexis Taylor and Samantha Pensiero of Darien were among more than 1,100 students named to the Dean's List for the fall semester at Purchase (N.Y.) College. Students who have earned this academic honor have maintained a grade-point average of 3.5 or higher and taken a minimum of 12 credits. For BA and BS programs, a semester GPA of 3.50 is required. For BFA and MusB programs, a semester GPA of 3.75 is required.
