By Ashley Winterstein

The Laws of Life are the values and ideals that guide the decisions people make every day. These leading principles may vary for each person based on the experiences that influence their life.

The Annual Laws of Life Essay Contest asks middle and high school students across the Eastern Shore to write about the principles that are most important to them. Using the Six Pillars of Character (Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring, and Citizenship) as a guide, each student is asked to share personal accounts of the experiences that have shaped their young life.

A record 1,473 essays were submitted this year from Caroline, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot Counties, with 345 essays being from Queen Anne’s County. One essay was chosen from each participating school and these student authors received recognition for their outstanding work.

Many parents, teachers, faculty, and community members gathered at the Awards Celebration at the MEBA Engineering School in St. Michael’s on March 20, 2013 to honor these winning authors. Also in the audience to show their support from Queen Anne’s County were Character Counts! Coordinator Jacki Carter and Director of Curriculum and Instruction Roberta Leaverton.

The teachers and principals of the winning students were also invited to attend the Celebration to be recognized for the support they offered these students. Principals John Schrecongost from Kent Island High School and Amy Hudock from Centreville Middle School were in the audience that evening, along with teachers Kelly Sell from Stevensville Middle School, Sharon Murdoch from Sudlersville Middle School, and Jennifer Osbourne from Matapeake Middle School.

Five deserving students from Queen Anne’s County accepted their awards at the Celebration: Mikey Monroe from Centreville Middle School, Emily Hogan from Matapeake Middle School, Olivia Whitehair from Sudlersville Middle School, Taylor Hudgins from Stevensville Middle School, and Clare Stanfield from Kent Island High School.

Their thoughtful essays ranged from topics of divorce, bullying, interacting with siblings, and advice from parents. Each of them were fortunate enough to have character coaches in their classrooms and other supporters throughout their lives – parents, friends, teachers, and coaches – who served and continue to serve as role models and mentors.
The guest speaker at the Celebration, Liz Marks, shared the story of how she ran into the back of another truck while texting and driving. Because of the extensive injuries she sustained from the accident, Marks had to relearn to walk, talk, eat, and write. She is now blind in her left eye and will undergo up to 20 total facial surgeries to repair the damages. Marks shared her remarkable progress and story in hopes of discouraging teens and adults from texting while driving.

The Character Counts! Advisory Council would like to thank the teachers for their support of the contest and congratulate this year’s essay winners for their hard work and fantastic essays. They would also like to thank the essay readers from Queen Anne’s County: Jeff Straight, Kathy Easter, Winkie Wilson, Chris Grupenhoff, MaryRuth Meredith, Jennifer Stansbury, Ashley Winterstein, Cindy Chirumbole, and Commissioner Phil Dumenil for taking the time to read and evaluate a portion of the entries.

If you would like to read the six winning essays from Queen Anne’s County, please visit www.peopleofcharacter.org for the link!

For more information about the Laws of Life Essay Contest contact Susan Luby at 410-819-0386. For the Character Counts! program in Queen Anne’s County, please contact Jacki Carter at 410-758-6677 or jcarter@qac.org. Queen Anne’s County Character Counts! is a part of QAC Community Partnerships for Children and Families, our local management board.