By Brennah Milliorn
Special to the Alpine Mountaineer
Maya Angelou once said, “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside of you.”
That quote really resonated for the students who participated in this year’s AVID Write-Off. For 26 years, this amazing competition has given students from Riverside, Inyo, Mono and San Bernardino counties the chance to write from the heart and show off their creativity.
This year, Mary Putnam Henck Intermediate School got to be part of it, and students from sixth to eighth grade reflected on the theme, Social Media: Aligning Your Content with Your Character.
The eighth-grade winners were Sarah Radleigh (1st place), Aime Moreno (runner-up) and William Martinez (3rd place). We also had Elisa Mondragon-Garcia win for seventh grade and Emma Barthel take the prize for sixth grade.
I had the opportunity to interview these winners, and it’s clear that they have big plans ahead!
Sarah Radleigh, who dreams of going to UC Berkeley and becoming a pediatric nurse, said winning was a big moment. “It’s cool to have won out of a class of 30!” she said.
Runner-up Aime Moreno, who loves drawing and crocheting, has big goals, too – she wants to become a nurse or doctor and hopes to attend Stanford or Yale someday.
William Martinez was surprised by his win but now feels motivated to keep writing. He’s aiming for a future in aerospace engineering.
Our sixth- and seventh-grade winners also have some exciting dreams. Elisa Mondragon-Garcia, the seventh-grade winner, wants to be a veterinarian and hopes to attend the University of Redlands. She called her win “a big surprise!”
Emma Barthel, the sixth-grade winner, is into nature and gymnastics and already knows she wants to be a teacher one day. She knows that this win can be helpful in the future on college and job applications.
It’s pretty cool to see how writing can open doors for the future. The AVID Write-Off is more than just a competition – it’s a chance to share our stories and imagine what’s possible. These students showed us all what it means to turn our dreams into something real, one word at a time.
Brennah Milliorn is an eighth-grade AVID student at Mary Putnam Henck Intermediate School.
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