Sablan, Sikkel win VFW contests

Winners of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Voice of Democracy audio-essay and Patriot’s Pen essay contests, from left, Audry Paige White, Serin Chung, Irin Chung, Phoenix Sapphire Gross, and VOD first-place winner Jesus T. Sablan pose for a photo with VFW Post 3457 commander Robert DeRocher last Monday night at an awards ceremony at the VFW Bar. Moshe Sikkel, who won first place in the Patriot’s Pen essay contest, was not present at the ceremony. (LEIGH GASES)

Once again, Saipan International School students swept this year’s Voice of Democracy and Patriot’s Pen youth essay contest of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3457, as announced last Monday at the VFW Bar.

Jesus T. Sablan won first place in the VOD audio-essay for the fourth year in a row, while Serin Chung won second place, and Irin Chung won third place.

Moshe Sikkel won first place in the Patriot’s Pen youth essay contest, Audry Paige White won second place, and Phoenix Sapphire Gross won third place.

First place for both contests received a $275 cash award along with a medal and a certificate, while second place received $190, a medal, and a certificate, and third place won $85, a medal, and a certificate as well.

Sablan, a 16-year-old senior at SIS, described his repeated victories as a “great opportunity.”

“I would like to thank Ms. [Kimberlee] Church for introducing VFW to me. She’s actually the one that got me started. I just think that this competition is very competitive and very diverse, however, I’m very grateful and proud that I’ve won for all of my four years of [joining] and I’m very excited.”

Sablan is a speech and debate participant in school and became interested in the VFW competition. “I started writing and then I submitted it. I found out that I got first place and so in the following years just getting that first [place] really encouraged me to continue,” he added.

Sikkel, a 13-year-old 8th grade student at SIS, was not present due to being in soccer practice, so his mother, Thu Tran, received his awards for him. She said of her son winning the award, “I think it’s great that Ms. [Kimberlee] Church is asking them to participate and asking them to write. I think it’s a great experience for them to be a part of it and just to practice on their essay writing skills. And for Moshe to win is just the cherry on top.”

Robert DeRocher, commander of the VFW Post 3457, who announced the winners, said that everybody who competed “turned in exemplary work. Everyone who turns something in should be very proud. It was a very tough decision for the judges. It was a tough competition.”

According to the VFW website, the Voice of Democracy audio-essay program provides high school students across the nation “the unique opportunity to express themselves in regards to a democratic and patriotic-themed recorded essay.”

VFW said that nearly 65,000 high schoolers in the U.S. submit their essays every year in hopes of earning their share of over $2 million in scholarship funds and other incentives awarded through the program. This year’s VOD theme was, “Why is the veteran Important?”

The Patriot’s Pen youth essay contest is another contest hosted by VFW posts for sixth to eighth-grade students nationwide. Around 165,000 middle schoolers submit their essays in hopes of earning their share of more than $1.4 million in state and national awards. This year, students had to write a 400- to 500-word essay on the theme, “My Pledge to Veterans.”