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Two Strom Thurmond Juniors named Winners in writing competition web posted February 3, 2009 JOHNSTON – Two Strom Thurmond High School juniors, Mary Mickelson and Sarah Turner, have been recognized as contest winners for their essays honoring Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. The competition was sponsored by the Nancy Carson Library, which was selected to host a traveling Lincoln exhibit, one of only forty such exhibitions in the United States celebrating the sixteenth President's 200th birthday. Participating middle school and high school students, which included over eighty from Strom Thurmond High School alone, rewrote the Gettysburg Address as though it were being delivered today. Students were required to limit their essays, as did Lincoln himself, to ten or fewer sentences, 271 or fewer words. Ms. Turner read her essay at a public reception at 7:00 p.m. at the Nancy Carson Library, Tuesday, January 27, 2009. (Miss Mickelsen was unable to attend the reception due to illness) Following are the winning essays: Essay By: Mary Mickelsen When America was established, our founding fathers had a dream, a dream that this nation would not only long endure, but succeed as a unified people of liberty. Yet with the War on Terror, economic hardships, environmental concerns, battles over immigration, abortion and gay rights, this dream has often been forsaken. It would be impossible to ignore these issues, so instead we must accept them as opportunities to prove that such a nation as the America of our hearts and minds still exists. For what good is a country if its people cannot persevere through difficult circumstances? Only by embracing a "new birth of freedom", learning from past hurdles, and remembering the countless lives lost for the cause of liberty, will we achieve unity. For change will inevitably come and as long as that change honors the sovereignty of our constitution, how can we do anything but welcome it? Peace, honesty, equality, justice, these are the cries of our generation and in this we are all standing on common ground. My challenge to you is this: be a people of integrity, not complaining when problems arise, but striving to be a part of the solution; be a place rooted in solid moral values, but not overly reluctant to accept new ideas. We must not give up in a day and age where the future is quite uncertain. So let us unify once more, a country prepared to face whatever lies ahead with complete confidence and faith, as one nation under God, a land of opportunity, a government of, for, and by, the people; we will not fail, we will succeed! Essay By: Sarah Turner Through the years, our most glorious nation has been perceived as an indestructible power, flourishing with success, and wealthy with freedom. Despite what seems to be our invulnerability, we can be bruised and shaken by both inside and outside forces. Military action has become a frequently used tool by, and against our country. We are the world’s superpower, and yet economic turmoil threatens to tear us apart. Our roof seems to be crumbling in, but our foundation is and shall always remain strong. We have become an ideal place for the persecuted and scared to receive sanctuary, while still keeping their beliefs and traditions. It is for them, and not just ourselves that our nation will endure through any turmoil. We will come together as a single united front against the problems that we face. Our successors will remember us as brave and loyal because we supported our country in its time of crisis. We, the people, are the ones who will save our country, and see that it will last through any and all tests on our freedom. © Copyright 2009
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