When the League of Women Voters of the MontereyPeninsula sponsored the “Right to Vote” essay contest for local high school students, Carmel’s teachers and counselors highly encouraged participation and got a resounding response.
CHS students took home five of the eight awards, including first place for senior Noah Liebmiller and second place for senior Maisie Kise. Seniors Charlotte Anderle, Kaili Alexander and Jackie Mauldwin each took home honorable mentions.
Liebmiller, who has worked as a campaign volunteer for several candidates in the past year, experienced voter-precinct walking last June in Seaside.
“I argued that a vote is the most important expression of hope in American democracy,” Liebmiller says. “I suggested that politics is the field where people find an outlet for their dreams and goals.”
Kise, on the other hand, did not always have such an ideal view of politics.
“I grew up feeling like the government’s only true intention was to manipulate the common man,” Kise says. “But now I realize that the government is so much more than the corruptive sound bite that the media distills it down to. And I felt really proud the day I voted, and even though my vote was small, it felt good to be a part of America’s voice.”
All winners received a monetary award, and first, second and third place winners had their articles published in the League of Women Voters of the MontereyPeninsula’s January newsletter.
-EMILY WOLFSON
