The Clarkston Optimist Club held its 32nd Annual Essay Contest, with the topic, “When All the World’s Problems Are Solved, Is Optimism Still Necessary?” Overall, 13 essays were submitted from local students attending Clarkston High School and Clarkston Everest Collegiate. This year’s judges were Charlie Campbell, Myrna Hirn, and Kathy Middleton.
Nathan Dimmer, sophomore at Clarkston High School, won first place and a $200 prize. Dimmer’s winning essay, about how optimism fuels progress in society, also competed at the state level, and placed second in all of Michigan, which is the highest any Clarkston student has ever placed before.
“Optimism gives people the strength both to overcome what they otherwise could not, and to create new things that would otherwise never be invented,” wrote Dimmer in his winning essay. “Optimism fuels dreamers, believers, and achievers as they bring humanity forward into the future.”
Colleen Walker, junior at Everest Collegiate, took home second place and a $100 prize.
The third place winner was Grace Nolan, a CHS senior, who won a $50 prize.
The winners read their essays and received their prizes at the Optimist Club’s morning meeting, April 10. “The three winning essays were insightful and well written,” said Tracy Bedford, contest moderator. “I was pleased and heartened all three of these young people, our future leaders, approach problems with a sense of optimism and empathy.”