Names of Note: See who won Stanislaus essay contest. The topic was women’s suffrage
Hugo Castro-Ponce of Gregori High School placed first in the 19th annual American Heritage Scholarship Series essay contest for Stanislaus County.
He and 16 other students received scholarships during an online ceremony Tuesday, Nov. 17. The topic this year was the 100th anniversary of American women securing the right to vote.
The contest was sponsored by the county Office of Education, Modesto City Schools and The Modesto Bee. A total of 73 high school students entered. A video of the ceremony is on the county office website, www.stancoe.org/americanheritage.
The students’ preparation included a Sept. 9 video featuring Marie Silveira, a recently retired Superior Court judge, and Marian Kaanon, CEO and president of the Stanislaus Community Foundation.
California women could vote in state and local elections starting in 1911. The right became national with the ratification of the 19th Amendment on Aug. 18, 1920.
The essay contest organizers provided students with this prompt: “Voting is a basic component of democracy, and who gets the right to cast a ballot has been a contentious issue. Today there is debate over lowering the age for voting. In honor of the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, consider the efforts made by generations of women to secure the right to vote.”
Castro-Ponce received a $2,000 scholarship for placing first. The other students and scholarship amounts are:
- Kalisa Kang, Gregori, $1,500
- Riley Berger, Whitmore Charter, $1,000
Benjamin Pratt, Gregori, $500
Alyssa Turn, Gregori, $500
- Victor Gaspar-Flores, Gregori, $500
- Eldin Moradkhan, Big Valley Christian, $500
- Roya Amirsheybani, Whitmore Charter, $100
- Sarah Browning, Downey, $100
- Ben Fichtenkort, Beyer, $100
- Julia Hoxie, Whitmore Charter, $100
- McKenna Hughes, Big Valley Christian, $100
- Virginia Moore, Central Valley, $100
- Carmen Ramirez, Central Valley, $100
- Qalidra Sengsoury, Central Valley, $100
- Wyatt Thames, Big Valley Christian, $100
- Isaac White, Big Valley Christian, $100.
Names of Note recognizes people and organizations for their contribution to their communities. Submit items to jholland@modbee.com.
