Laws of Life Essay Contest

Character Counts Mid Shore recently announced the top three finalists of the Annual Laws of Life Essay Contest.

Middle and high school students from 15 schools in Talbot, Caroline, and Dorchester counties submitted 1,215 essays based on how they apply the Six Pillars of Character – trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship in their own lives.

Each school has a winner who received a prize of $50 and their teacher also was awarded $50.   From the school winners, overall middle and high school winners were selected and those winners received an additional $150 prize.

The student with the Best Essay received the Albert Kennerly Character Counts Laws of Life Scholarship of $2,500.  This scholarship was given by Mr. Kenneth Kennerly and his family in memory of his late father who was “a man of great character”.

This year’s Kennerly Scholarship recipient was Jerome Thomas, a junior at North Dorchester High School in Hurlock.  Thomas wrote about his experience as a community volunteer.  Even though he had already fulfilled the necessary requirements of Service Learning hours for graduation, his mother informed him that he would not be sitting around the house and signed him up for a local church community project with Habitat for Humanity.  When the potential homeowner stopped by to look at the volunteers’ progress, she was overjoyed and thanked each volunteer.  This grateful lesson had an emotional impact for Thomas and he realized that charity and citizenship can provide a lasting effect on the lives of people and society.

The overall middle school winner was Kathryn Collison, an eighth grade student at South Dorchester School in Church Creek.  After receiving a diagnosis of Lyme’s Disease, she became very ill and the medication made her feel even worse.  Soon, she started losing trust in her doctors and medicine.  Collison thought she would never be well.  When she started going to a Naturopathic doctor, she knew she had to start trusting again.  While this was a difficult task, Collison did exactly what she was told to do and soon her trust in others and her health returned.  She also gained back the trust in herself.

Jamie Hetrick, a senior at Caroline Career and Technology Center, in Ridgely was named the overall high school winner.  She recalls learning the Six Pillars of Character in elementary school and how they practiced each pillar.  As Hetrick entered into high school, she noticed that practicing good character had begun to fade with no constant reminders to “be caring”.  Looking back, she wished that she had been a little more compassionate instead of being caught up in the freedom of high school.  FFA is a significant part of her life and she applied a segment of the FFA Closing Ceremony as her Law of Life which states, “As we mingle with others, let us be diligent in labor, just in our dealings, courteous to everyone and above all, honest and fair in the game of life.”

“This was our 15^th year of hosting this essay contest and we are truly thankful to the teachers who participate.  Reading the essays submitted by students allows CCMS to have direct feedback on how the youth in the mid shore area are applying the pillars of character in their lives,” states Susan Luby, Character Counts Mid Shore’s Executive Director. “We are also grateful to all the volunteers who read and score the essays.”

Photo: Jerome Thomas accepts the $2500 Albert Kennerly Character Counts Laws of Life Scholarship Award from Lollie Walters, President of the Character Counts Mid Shore’s Board of Trustees.

Character Counts Mid Shore, Inc, is a non-profit (501C3) community-based organization that works to espouse positive character development in every aspect of life. Non-political and non-religious, the organization’s mission is to provide and implement a citizen-driven character enrichment program to all citizens in Talbot, Dorchester and Caroline Counties. For more information about CCMS, visit www.charactercountsmidshore.com or call 410-819-0386.