Florida Commission on the Status of Women | Florida Commission on the Status of Women Announces Winners of Women's History Contest - Florida Commission on the Status of Women

FLORIDA COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF WOMEN’S HISTORY ESSAY CONTEST

Tallahassee, FL (March 8, 2017) — The Florida Commission on the Status of Women (FCSW) announced today the winners of its 2nd Annual Women’s History Essay Contest.

The winners of the 6-7 grades category are:
1^st Place – Autumn Rhodes, Paul Laurence Dunbar Middle School
2^nd Place – Sarah Garfield, Polo Park Middle School
3^rd Place – Samantha Kalish, Polo Park Middle School

The winners of the 8-9 grade category are:
1^st Place – Grace Stanley, Brown Barge Middle School
2^nd Place – Keegan Weitzel, Eastside High School
3^rd Place – Evelyn Gonzalez, Hialeah Senior High School

The Florida Women History essay contest serves to celebrate women’s history and to increase awareness of the contributions made by Florida women, including the 97 members of the Florida Women’s Hall of Fame. Entries for this year’s contest were challenged to write about their dreams of furthering women’s advancement in our society, using a fictitious $1,000,000 grant. Winning essayists will be awarded prizes and recognized at a special ceremony at the FCSW Women’s History Month Celebration Luncheon at the Capitol in Tallahassee on March 30, 2017.

“The Women’s History Essay Contest is an excellent tool which allows our children to learn about the women who shaped Florida. It also lends the learning experience of seeing themselves as social engineers seeking a way to improve the lives of women today,” said Commissioner Ekecia G. Taylor, Chair of the Essay Task Force. “The quality of entries we receive speaks to the brilliance of Florida’s students and the competency of our teachers, and we enjoy providing this platform for their talents to be recognized.”

Since 1982, the Hall of Fame has honored Florida women who, through their lives and work, have made lasting contributions to the improvement of life for residents across the state. Some of the most notable inductees include singer Gloria Estefan, Bethune-Cookman University founder Mary McLeod Bethune, world renowned tennis athletes Chris Evert and Althea Gibson, Pilot Betty Skelton Frankman, journalist Helen Aguirre Ferre´, and Congresswomen Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Carrie Meek, Tillie Fowler and Ruth Bryan Owen.