The Clarkston Area Optimists awarded three scholarships last week for the club’s annual essay contest. From left: Rick Karlewski, President of the Clarkston Area Optimists, third place winner Kaylin Ziemba, second place winner Sofia Rykse, first place winner Richard Westerman, and Linda Danek Chair of the Essay Contest. Photo by Megan Kelley

By Megan Kelley
Editor
mkelley@mihomepaper.com
INDEPENDENCE TWP. — Last Wednesday, the Clarkston Area Optimist Club highlighted three area students in its annual essay contest.
Clarkston High School senior Richard Westerman was awarded first place and a cash prize of $250, while ninth-grade students at Clarkston Junior High, Sofia Rykse and Kaylin Ziemba received second and third place with cash prizes of $150 and $100, respectively.
This year, students were asked to write an essay on “How optimism has paved my road to success,” and pull from their personal experiences to showcase the topic.
There were 40 students in the Clarkston area who participated including three from Everest Academy, nine from CHS, 23 from CJHS, two from Sashabaw Middle School and one each from students at Bailey Lake Elementary School, Springfield Plains Elementary School and Pine Knob Elementary School.
Each of the three winners read their essays aloud to the club members, starting with Ziemba who shared her experience in how optimism helped her leave behind things that no longer served her and allowed her to move on to better things.
“Optimism has paved the road to my success by providing me with opportunities, giving me the strength to open new doors and also providing me with the courage to close doors that aren’t having a positive impact on my life anymore,” Ziemba said. “Optimism has given me the confidence to let go of the things that didn’t bring me joy anymore even if starting over seemed scary.”
Rykse also shared her story, explaining that as a perfectionist, she has found that quality to often cause her setbacks when unable to achieve sheer perfection, going on to say that she has work to choose optimism instead of pessimism.
“I don’t have to fight my faults and try to shape them into something that I’m not. Instead, I realize that taking a step back and accepting that every part of me is beautiful is vital to nurturing an optimistic perspective,” Rykse said. “In my everyday life, I can use this belief to understand the good and the bad in situations life has thrown at me and make the best of it no matter what.
Lastly, Westerman read his essay, sharing a story of a mission trip he took to Guatemala where he stepped out of his comfort zone and gained confidence in himself while working at a makeshift dental clinic.
“I don’t tend to my perfectly manicured garden anymore, instead, I venture from the confines of my garden to explore the untamed fields. I’m now determined to acquire more gardening tools and learn how to use them. My outlook on life has changed through this experience, I’ve become optimistic that my actions can change the world – maybe not the entire world but at the world for those that I encounter through my endeavors,” Westerman said.
Westerman, a senior at CHS, plans to attend the University of Michigan in the fall where he hopes to study dentistry.
Westerman now moves on to the district competition where he will compete against approximately 85 other students and have the opportunity to win a $2,500 scholarship.
All essays can be found on the Optimist Club website at clarkstonoptimists.org/essay-contest.