With essays topics ranging from Galileo to deceased family members and even King Kamehameha, Auto Body Hawai’i has made tough decisions in naming the winners of its 2015 Teacher and High School Senior Essay Contest.
For the first-time ever, Auto Body Hawai’i’s high school student winner is from Kealakehe. Maggie Chen’s essay titled “Rose” was chosen because of her unique perspective of the topic.
“What drew us to her essay was the person Maggie choose to bring back. We felt was both a unique and bold choice. We felt this essay was a winner because it touched a nerve we all can relate to which is: ‘I wish I would have’,” Auto Body Hawai’i’s Marketing Specialist Tiffiny Taylor told Big Island Now.
Chen’s essay challenges this year’s topic, “If you had the opportunity to bring any person – past or present, fictional or nonfictional – to your hometown, who would you bring and why?”
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In her essay, Chen approached the topic with profound thought, choosing to bring her previous self to the present.
“I want to let my past self see this future, just a glimpse, and know that this world, her future, my present, is graspable and real and approachable and perfectly flawed – there’s nothing to be afraid, there never anything to be afraid of,” Chen wrote in her submission.
Chen was awarded a $500 cash prize as the winner of the Student Essay Contest.
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Hawai’i Preparatory Academy’s Philip Cheng won the Teacher’s Essay Contest and received a $500 prize to spend at his school and a Super Detailing service for his vehicle.
“Each year we try to select thought provoking questions to offer as a topic. Ultimately, we would like to offer questions that most everyone can relate to,” Taylor said.
As the essay contest rolls around every year, Auto Body Hawai’i seeks submissions for all abilities and stresses that they are not looking for a technical essay, but rather quality content and expressive minds.
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Taylor emphasized, “This contest is not only for the honor students.”
To read Chen’s submission in full, visit the Auto Body Hawai’i website.
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