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Local teen wins trip to Washington, DC
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Posted on Feb 10 2005
For the first time ever, a student from the Northern Mariana Islands won the Veterans of Foreign Wars Voice of Democracy oral essay contest, giving her the right to represent the Pacific region in Washington, D.C.
Leslie Kelly Cabrera, a senior at the Northern Marianas Academy, topped contestants from Guam, Taiwan, Okinawa, Korea, Japan, Thailand, and the Philippines.
By winning the Pacific areas, Cabrera has already won $1,700, a VFW blazer and an all-expenses paid trip to Washington, D.C. where she will join 52 other contestants vying for a $25,000 scholarship. In addition Cabrera will attend the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge’s Spirit of America Youth Conference being held in July 2005.
Cabrera lives in Dandan Village with her mother, Deanna Kelly, and grandmother of Carmen Kelly.
Her principal, Sandy McKenzie, said that Leslie is an A plus student who will graduate with honors from both Northern Marianas Academy and Northern Marianas College in May 2005. Leslie is also involved with various community service projects.
The VFW Voice of Democracy contest is an annual patriotic oral essay contest sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars. The national VFW selects a patriotic theme each year for the competition. Then students in grades 9 through 12 are offered the opportunity to vie for a $25,000 scholarship and a trip to Washington, D.C.
In addition, at each of the first three levels of competition contestants can win an assortment of prizes. A companion contest, the Patriot’s Pen, is a written essay contest for students in grades 6 through 8. Anyone wishing more information on either of these contests should contact John Davis at 235-5123 or 235-4839.
