An annual Essay Contest targeted towards High-School and Middle-School and Elementary-School students to foster literary interest within the community and increase awareness of the world we live in.

2022 Essay Contest Awards

The virtual awards ceremony was held on Sunday, October 16th, at 4pm PST. We celebrated all the participants and winners with exciting prizes and Certificates from our esteemed Judges and Sponsors.

Awards Ceremony

Winners

High School Winners
1st Place: Angela Yang, Granada Hills Charter High School, Los Angeles, CA
2nd Place: Jenny Chan, Saratoga High School, Saratoga, CA
3rd Place: Minseo Park, Cupertino High School, Cupertino, CA
Honorable Mention: Zain Haseeb, Cupertino High School, Cupertino, CA
Honorable Mention: Jan Fong Lim, Lynbrook High School, Saratoga, CA

Middle School Winners
1st Place: Shriya Jha, Joaquin Miller Middle School, San Jose, CA
2nd Place: Anushka Deshmukh, Joaquin Miller Middle School, San Jose, CA
3rd Place: Anirudh Nambiar, Kennedy Middle School, Cupertino, CA
Honorable Mention: Angela Kim, Lawson Middle School, Cupertino, CA
Honorable Mention: Dhriti Ganesh, Cupertino Middle School, Cupertino, CA

Elementary School Winners
1st Place: Ayman Mahajan, Long Island School for the Gifted, Albertson, NY
2nd Place: Emma Chern, Stocklmeir Elementary School, Sunnyvale, CA
3rd Place: Adhrutha Subramoniam, C.B Eaton Elementary School, Cupertino, CA
Honorable Mention: Brady Chern, Stocklmeir Elementary School, Sunnyvale, CA
Honorable Mention: Poorvi Sreekanth, Murdock Portal Elementary School, Saratoga, CA

Submissions

Total Number of Submissions: 89
Ages: 5 to 18 years old
Grades: Kindergarten to 12th Grade
Cities: Cupertino, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Saratoga, San Jose, Palo Alto, Los Gatos, Albertson, New York, Los Angeles

Prizes

Winning essays will be published on Silicon Valley Youth Channel website!

High School Prizes
1st Prize:
1 Hour College Counseling ($300 value) from SpringLight Education
$30 Amazon Gift Card from Cupertino Library Foundation
Certificate of Recognition from Silicon Valley Youth Channel

2nd Prize:
1 Hour College Counseling ($300 value) from SpringLight Education
$30 Gift Card from Dish-N-Dash Restaurant
Certificate of Recognition from Silicon Valley Youth Channel

3rd Prize:
$50 Amazon Gift Card from Cupertino Library Foundation
$20 Gift Card from Chipotle
Certificate of Recognition from Silicon Valley Youth Channel

Honorable Mentions:
Certificate of Recognition from Silicon Valley Youth Channel

Middle School Prizes
1st Prize:
$50 Amazon Gift Card from Cupertino Library Foundation
$10 Gift Card from Chipotle
Certificate of Recognition from Silicon Valley Youth Channel

2nd Prize:
$20 Amazon Gift Card from Cupertino Library Foundation
$50 Gift Card from Pacific Catch Restaurant
Certificate of Recognition from Silicon Valley Youth Channel

3rd Prize:
$15 Amazon Gift Card from Cupertino Library Foundation
$30 Gift Card from Cicero’s Pizza
Certificate of Recognition from Silicon Valley Youth Channel

Honorable Mentions:
Certificate of Recognition from Silicon Valley Youth Channel

Elementary School Prizes
1st Prize:
$50 Amazon Gift Card from Cupertino Library Foundation
$10 Gift Card from Chipotle
Certificate of Recognition from Silicon Valley Youth Channel

2nd Prize:
$20 Amazon Gift Card from Cupertino Library Foundation
$50 Gift Card from Pacific Catch Restaurant
Certificate of Recognition from Silicon Valley Youth Channel

3rd Prize:
$15 Amazon Gift Card from Cupertino Library Foundation
$30 Gift Card from Cicero’s Pizza
Certificate of Recognition from Silicon Valley Youth Channel

Honorable Mentions:
Certificate of Recognition from Silicon Valley Youth Channel

Prompts

What is a change you want to make to benefit some aspect of your community and how would you implement it?

An invention to help your community – what would it do, whom would it help, how would you build it? Tell us your idea – every exciting detail!

What is an issue you feel strongly about that you wish more people understood?

Choose your favorite work of art (painting, text, etc.) and analyze/describe how it makes you feel.

Rules

Choose a question from the list of prompts to answer

Brainstorm a few answers and decide on an idea that will persuade or spark interest in the reader, making sure the issue or topic you select is something you care about.

You must be 18 years old or younger

The SVYC Essay contest is targeted towards students 18 or younger anywhere in the world, and is categorized into two divisions: High school (Rising 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th graders) and Middle School or below.

Your essay must not exceed 450 words, so be concise and effective with your words

Make sure the ideas you are trying to convey are specific enough to realistically and thoroughly investigate within the word limit.

You may submit more than one essay, but only one per prompt

All entries must be submitted by Sept 1st 2022. Late entries will not be accepted

When editing your work after you finish writing, verify that your intentions and language are clear

Confirm that your essay answers the following questions: Is the prompt I chose clearly answered? How well does my answer connect to the prompt? What message do I want my reader to be left with?

Your essay must be your own

You can do some research and look at sources that offer a range of perspectives, but ultimately the opinions and ideas must be your own. Plagiarism in any form or amount will not be tolerated.