HILDENE CELEBRATES INSPIRING VERMONT YOUTH
19th Annual Lincoln Essay Competition Awards Celebration
Manchester, VT, May 1, 2025 - Students, families, teachers, principals, judges, and guests from across Vermont will gather in Hildene’s Lincoln Hall in Manchester on May 18 to honor the winners of the 19th annual VT 8th Grade Lincoln Essay Competition. Hildene received 158 essays from around the state. After several rounds of judging, a first, second, and third-place winner was chosen from each of four regions, along with an additional two honorable mentions. First-place winners will receive $500; second-place, $400; third-place, $300; and honorable mentions, $200. The public and press are welcome to attend the luncheon (tickets available at www.hildene.org).
Using as backdrop both the explosive tension dividing the nation before, during, and after the Civil War and President Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address urging Americans to come together “with malice toward none; with charity for all…in order to bind up the nation’s wounds,” this year’s prompt invited students to suggest ways to identify and reduce the polarization currently gripping the country. Students wrote about how heightened divisions have impacted them, their community, family, and/or school. They then detailed actions that could be taken to promote the kind of reconciliation Lincoln spoke of.
The judges were deeply impressed by the breadth and creativity of the students’ proposals to foster understanding between those with differing viewpoints and to illuminate their shared humanity. Recurring themes included practicing civic discourse, listening with empathy, finding common ground, and simply providing ways in which people can have fun together to break down barriers. From gathering people of all backgrounds for weekly town jam sessions (using music as the connector), to creating board games that encourage discussion around difficult topics, to introducing media literacy classes at a much younger age, to bringing people with opposing views to work together on service projects, the students offered a wealth of compelling suggestions to help bridge the widening gaps that threaten the fabric of their communities. To read more about the winners’ essays, visit Hildene’s website.
In Region One, which includes Grand Isle, Franklin, Orleans, Essex, Lamoille, Caledonia, and Washington Counties, first place goes to Zoya Bianchi of Harwood Union Middle School in Moretown, second place to home study student Olga Synkova of Roxbury, and third place to Kendal Bowen of Green Mountain Valley School in Waitsfield.
In Region Two, Chittenden County, first and third place go to Natalie Richardson and Esther Gray, respectively, both from Mater Christi School in Burlington. Second place goes to Bernadette Caldwell of Edmunds Middle School, also in Burlington. Eva Tarrant of Mater Christi School will receive honorable mention.
In Region Three, which includes Addison, Rutland, and Bennington Counties, first place goes to Sienna Many of Otter Valley Union Middle/High School in Brandon, second place to Lily Zinberg of Maple Street School in Manchester Center, and third place to Mia Miranda-Ngaiza of Middlebury Union Middle School in Middlebury.
In Region Four, which includes Orange, Windsor and Windham Counties, first and third place go to Nick Melrod and Agnes Derrendinger of the Upper Valley Waldorf School in Quechee, while second place goes to Viviana Fink of White River Valley Middle School in Bethel. Niamh “Lucy” Morris-Ravven of Putney Central School in Putney will receive honorable mention.
Hildene congratulates all the students who participated, noting the challenge of answering such a complex prompt in only 500 words or fewer. Every student will receive an acknowledgement letter as well as guest passes to visit Hildene. For more information, visit Hildene.org.For media inquiries or photo files, kindly contact Julia Zema at (312) 344 - 0743 or julia@hildene.org