Arkansas Peace Week has announced the winners of its Youth Essay Contest and Youth Art Contest.
The Arkansas Peace Week Essay Contest, for seventh-12th grade students, featured essays on the theme: "What does peace mean to you? What prevents us from living in peace and harmony? What can you do to address divisions in our communities?"
The Arkansas Peace Week Art Contest, for first-12th grade students, featured art pieces addressing the theme: "What does peace mean to you? Depict a more peaceful community in your art entry."
More than 1,000 art entries and 300 essay entries were submitted from across the state. Award winners from both contests were announced at an event at the Arkansas State Capitol Rotunda on Saturday.
Essay Contest Winners
Seventh Grade Winners
1st Place: Alexandra McPherson, Piece by Peace, Annie Camp Jr. High, Jonesboro.
2nd Place: Imanu'elle Joy, The Simpleness of Peace, Home School, Little Rock.
3rd Place: Kara Holzhauer, Find Your Peace, Dewitt Middle School.
Eighth Grade Winners
1st Place: Megan Wolfka, Stairway to Peace, Haas Hall Academy, Bentonville.
2nd Place: Kaylee Cagle, Peace in Arkansas, Ozark Junior High School.
3rd Place: Caden Smith, What Really is Peace?, Robinson Middle School, Pulaski County Special School District.
Ninth Grade Winners
1st Place: Hannah Atungulu, What is Peace, and How Do You Gain it?, Haas Hall Academy, Springdale.
1st Place: William Bell, How Can We Get Peace?, Academies at Rivercrest High School, Wilson.
3rd Place: Shriya Patel, Finding Peace, Academies at Rivercrest High School, Wilson.
10th Grade Winners
1st Place: Hollyn Dycus, The Disbelief of Peace, Bay High School.
2nd Place: Isabella Mullinax, True Peace is Impossible, Fountain Lake High School, Hot Springs.
3rd Place: Kailee Branson, Peace Within Empathy, Acorn High School, Mena.
11th Grade Winners
1st Place: Meera Henry, How to Accomplish Peace, Acorn High School, Mena.
2nd Place: Zoey Arbaugh, Peace, The True Final Frontier, Clarksville High School.
3rd Place: Ryan Nellon, Ryan's Peace Week Essay, Little Rock Central High School.
12th Grade Winners
1st Place: Heavenly Thompson, Peace Within the Walls, Mountain View High School.
2nd Place: Simon Gess, We Will Not Be the Ones Who Walk Away, Little Rock Central High School.
3rd Place: Rukaya Alrubaye, Dreams of Peace in an Unforgiving World, Haas Hall Academy, Fayetteville.
Art Contest Winners.
First-Second Grade Winners
1st Place: Ane' Brumfield, Friends Show Peace and Love, Ridge Road Elementary.
2nd Place: Gage Furrow, Let's Have Peace, Homeschool Pleasant Plains.
3rd Place: Briana Avellano Carrillo, Heart of Peace, Maumelle.
Third-Fourth Grade Winners
1st Place: Ellie Rodriguez, Together Peace Is Possible, Home School, Cabot.
2nd Place: Scarlett McClintock, My Idea of Peace, Paris Elementary School.
3rd Place: Casey Hamada, Untitled, Pine Forest Elementary, Pulaski County Special School District.
Fifth-Sixth Grade Winners
1st Place: Asmi Pathak, Respect, Love, Unity Bring Peace, Creek Side Middle School.
2nd Place: Hadley Landers, My Wish for the World, Cave City Middle School.
3rd Place: Calysta Komons, Camping Companions, Batesville Junior High.
Seventh-Eighth Grade Winners
1st Place: Kimberly Martinez, Definition of Peace To Me, Hot Springs Junior Academy.
2nd Place: Dakota Kisselburg, Stop Bullying, Arkansas Middle School, Texarkana.
3rd Place: Jazara Kipps, Monument for Peace, Founders Classical Academy of West Little Rock.
Ninth-10th Grade Winners
1st Place: Jordan Jacuzzi, Reach for Peace. Mount St Mary Academy, Little Rock.
2nd Place: Tucker Dunlap, Best Game Ever, Piggott High School.
3rd Place: Amberly Humble, Equanimity, Jessieville High School.
11th-12th Grade Winners
1st Place: Madison McKnight, Peace Over Racism, Jessieville High School.
2nd Place: Ashlynn Bearden, Build Peace, Piggott High School.
3rd Place: Yinuo Huang, World Peace, Jonesboro.
A video of the winners is on Facebook: https://bit.ly/3xT1uTE.
Arkansas Peace Week, which concluded Sunday, is a program of activities with a mission to educate and promote peacemaking and raise awareness of organizations working to build a lasting peace in Arkansas. Events feature education, service, dialogue and outreach activities. The events take place during the third week of September, in observance of the United Nations International Day of Peace. The 2022 theme for the International Day of Peace is "End racism. Build peace."