Optimist Club names student essay contest winners

In a virtual ceremony held Jan. 18, the Sussex Optimist Club announced the winners for its 2020-21 Optimist International Essay Contest.

First-place winner was Josiah Moore from Milford High School. Yeraldin Torres-Landeros from Seaford High School won second place, and third place went to Anjolie Suberro from Woodbridge High School. All three winners received a certificate, a medallion and a monetary prize.

Moore’s essay has been forwarded to the district level where his essay will compete with other winners from Optimist Clubs in Delaware and Maryland.

The essays were written on the theme of Reaching your Dreams by Choosing Optimism and were judged in a two-tier system by six judges. Seven Sussex County schools participated this year. 

The Optimist Club of Sussex County has been participating in the Optimist Essay Contest for four years and has been active in the community since 2017. Other programs and service projects the club is involved with include the Optimist Oratorical Scholarship Contest, Youth Appreciation Day, and the annual Respect for Law Award.

Optimist International is one of the world’s largest service club organizations with 80,000 adult and youth members in 2,500 clubs in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, Mexico and around the world. Optimists conduct positive service projects that reach more than 6 million young people each year. For more information, email sussexoptimist@gmail.com and go to optimist.org.