TSA Student Achee Third in State Event

TSA Student Achee Third in State Event

Jeanelle Achee, a senior at The Sharon Academy, placed third in the state at the Vermont Honors Competition for Excellence in Writing Wednesday, May 20.

After competing at the school and regional competitions earlier this spring, Achee advanced to the state competition at the University of Vermont last week to compete against the four other finalists at the senior level. The students were given two prompts: a quote about the terrors of being 14 years old, and a photo of a couple dancing under a bridge in what looked to be a town in Italy. The finalists were then given 75 minutes to respond to each prompt.

As her second time at the state competition (she also made it there her freshmen year), Achee reports that she wasn’t nearly as stressed about the competition this time around. When the awards were handed out Wednesday night, the first-place winners from each grade (9-12) were able to read one of their essays.

Planning to attend the University of Vermont next year, Achee has enrolled in the Integrated Social Sciences Program (ISSP), a year-long curriculum that culminates in a research thesis, in order to continue to challenge herself as a writer.

The Vermont Honors Competition for Excellence in Writing has been hosted by the University of Vermont College of Education and Social Services since 1983. The Sharon Academy has participated in this competition for the past four consecutive years.