Optimist Club essay contest winners (left to right) Elly Ryan, 2nd place winner, Freshman at Clarkston Junior High School; Lia Fabrizio, 1st place winner, Freshman at Clarkston Junior High School; and Adah Chwasz, 3rd place winner, 7th grade student at Sashabaw Middle School.
Photo provided by Linda Danek, Clarkston Area Optimist Club Member and Essay Contest Chair.

CLARKSTON — The Clarkston Area Optimist Club recently announced the first, second and third place winners of its annual essay contest.
First place was awarded to Lia Fabrizio, a freshman at Clarkston Junior High School.
“Lia did a wonderful job of personalizing and articulating this year’s theme. She expressed herself well through the essay and deserved the honor of First Place winner,” club President Debbie Berry said.
Fellow honorees include second place winner Elly Ryan, a freshman at Clarkston Junior High School and third place winner Adah Chwasz, a seventh-grade student at Sashabaw Middle School.
Each year the CAOC holds the essay contest with a different theme, encouraging local students under the age of 19 to draw from their own experiences and the world around them in order to win a scholarship. This year’s theme was “Optimism: How it Connects Us.”
Top three finishers are awarded $250, $150 and $100 respectively.
Local club winners are also given the opportunity to compete in May at a district level for a $2,500 scholarship which is funded by the Optimist International Foundation.
If you’re interested in other scholarship opportunities, events or just want to get involved with the optimist club, visit their website at www.clarkstonoptimists.org.
— Megan Kelley