Our cSw Chief Editor, Katie McCreedy, has been selected by the New Jersey Council of Teachers of English (NJCTE) as their 2016 Personal Essay Bronze Medalist. Hundreds of students across New Jersey submit to this competition in one of three categories: personal essay, poetry, and short story. Gold, silver, and bronze medalists are chosen in each category after months of thorough review by NJCTE board members. Katie’s teachers at Morristown High School in Northern NJ, encouraged her to submit an essay.
Each year, students are given a prompt to respond to, and this year they were asked to describe a time in their lives where they felt like an outsider and how it has affected them. Katie wrote about her experiences as a young student taking NJ Transit. She noted that passengers are less willing to engage in conversation, making it even more important to value personal relationships. On April 26th, Katie will attend the NJCTE Awards Reception at Union Catholic High School to celebrate this achievement.
Image Credit: [Passengers Waiting for a Train | Author: Andrey Shalaev License: CC BY 2.0]