Maryknoll Magazine has announced the selection of six student winners in its annual essay contest who will share nearly $3,000 in cash prizes.

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO ABOUT THE 2009 CONTEST

This year’s topic, "Is It All About Me?" attracted more than 7,000 entries from young people who wrote about following Jesus’ words, "Love your neighbor as yourself," in our self-centered culture. 

Youngsters competed in two age categories—grades 6-8 (Division I) and 9-12 (Division II)—and submitted essays composed of 500-750 words. A panel of Maryknoll missioners and employees chose the following winners:

1^st Place “Bishop Francis X. Ford Award”  $1000

Ni’Jyle Rainey, St. Charles Borromeo School, Destrehan, La., Grade 7

 1^st Place “Bishop Patrick J. Byrne Award”  $1000

Yael Lara, St. Augustine High School, Laredo, Texas., Grade 9

2^nd Place  $300

Joseph McNamara, St. Luke the Evangelist School, Glenside, Pa., Grade 8
Danielle Kumpf, Vincentian Academy, Pittsburgh, Pa., Grade 11

3^rd Place  $150

Patricia Meade, St. James School, Stratford, Conn., Grade 8
Aisha Moses, Texas Academy of Leadership in the Humanities, Beaumont, Texas, Grade 12

"So often we hear it said that our kids are only taken up with their own wants and desires in a self-centered society," said Sister Mary Ellen Manz, M.M., who coordinated the judging of the contest. 

"The fact that more than 7,000 middle and high school students across this country sat down to write about how they see things, examining their own actions and often resolving to try to live a life that follows Jesus' words, 'You must love your neighbor as yourself,' belies that assessment," she said.

Sister Manz noted that the forty-six judges who helped read every one of those essays agreed that our youngsters are really on the right track. As so many of the students concluded, "It isn’t all about me--if I follow Jesus, it's all about you."

Rainey's and Lara's first-place essays will be published in the May/June issue of Maryknoll magazine, together with the names and photos of second- and third-place winners. Visit www.maryknollsociety.org/essay to get the 2010 Student Essay Contest rules when they become available.