Elin Bash was among the first cohort of girls to start at The Kiski School in 2024.
She remembers how big of a change it was, as she transferred at the start of her junior year. At times, she said, she had to fight for her space in student-run clubs.
“I had to advocate for myself,” Bash said.
Now a senior who will attend Swarthmore College in the fall, Bash was nominated by The Kiski School’s counselors, Sonia Mahabir and Francesca Pacelli, to write an essay for the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Good Citizen Award contest.
That’s where she translated those experiences into words.
Bash wasn’t the only Alle-Kiski Valley student who put pen to paper for the essay contest.
The DAR holds the contest each year at national, state and local levels, to honor students who exhibit qualities of good citizenship, said Alexa C. Hansen. Hansen is vice regent and chair of the historic preservation committee for the group’s Massy Harbison-Fort Hand Chapter, which serves the Alle-Kiski Valley.
Nine area students were nominated by their schools to participate.
Seven students wrote essays, but only one was chosen by non-DAR affiliated judges to advance to the contest’s state level: Isabella Graff, a senior at St. Joseph High School in Natrona Heights, Harrison. Pennsylvania has 94 DAR chapters, Hansen said.
This year, students were asked to write about how the qualities of good citizenship renew democracy in light of the nation’s 250th anniversary.
Graff reflected on the American Revolution and the strength of patriotism.
“I used examples about how that brought (American revolutionaries) together,” Graff said.
She focused on the qualities of leadership, camaraderie and service to others. She said the whole experience — being nominated, writing the essay and being sent to states — was a chance to grow as a person.
“I wasn’t really expecting it,” Graff said. “(The essay is) showing people who I am.”
Graff will received her $200 award, a certificate and pin from the local DAR chapter at a ceremony in May, Hansen said.
The other essay writers will also receive a certificate and pin at their graduation ceremonies.
The state winner will receive $3,000, and the national winner will take home $10,000.
Though students didn’t know the prompt before sitting for their two-hour monitored writing sessions, Bash said she had already been thinking about the qualities of good citizenship and how she sees it reflected in her school community.
“It was really great and a good experience to show what I’ve learned,” she said. “I was really proud of it. It felt good to put it on the page.”
When Mahabir and Pacelli nominated Bash to write the essay, they thought it would be a good way to showcase her leadership qualities.
“She was well known from the minute she walked on campus,” Pacelli said. “A lot of our young female students look up to her.”
Hansen said the essay contest is a great way to honor local students’ community and leadership efforts.
“My hope is that these outstanding students will stay connected to DAR and its mission, which celebrates dependability, service, leadership and patriotism,” Hansen said.
The award isn’t based only on grades, according to a DAR press release.
“This program recognizes students who demonstrate exemplary character in their homes, schools and communities,” the release said.
Haylee Heasley
At Burrell High School, counselor Viet Pham said his student nominee Haylee Heasley’s takes on self-respect, compassion and looking past partisan differences were especially poignant because they related to current events.
Coming from a high school senior, it made the essay more profound, he said.
“She talks about a unified environment for all citizens,” Pham said. “With all the political disagreements going on in America, I thought it was right on point. … She is very aware of what’s going on in America.”
Jocelyn Snyder
Jocelyn Snyder, an Apollo-Ridge High School senior, like many of the nominated students, weaved her extracurricular experiences into her essay.
Snyder reflected on how her involvement in drama club and the student newspaper help her to practice the same constitutional standards as the founding fathers. She then wrote about the legacy of the Vietnam War and the political conversations that circled it, which she said mirrors politics now.
“Standing up for what you believe in, even though if people disagree with that, can definitely be seen today,” she said.
She said the contest helped her reflect on the country, both historically and presently.
“It just allowed me to connect my spark and interest of history and government to current events,” she said.