Carly Dietz

It is, of course, quite difficult to choose the best overall entry in a competition that drew so many outstanding essays and narratives. But in the end Carly Dietz has won the honor of top prize for her essay with the topic "A Modern Day Hero."

"Carly Dietz's essay was as well structured as it was inspiring," said Bill Farrell, a former New York Daily News columnist and the author of Cradle of Champions. Farrell, who was one of the judges in the contest, added, "The way she laid out the issue and then concluded by circling back to the opening Is first class writing,"

Indeed, Carly's writing grabbed the reader right from the start, when she wrote, "It all started with a book. In eighth grade, I read 'The Promise of a Pencil' by Adam Braun. While Braun was traveling abroad as a college student he met a young boy begging on the streets of India, who, when asked what he wanted most in the world, simply answered, 'a pencil.' Braun was so inspired that he created an organization called Pencils of Promise (PoP)." Carly goes on to explain that Braun is her modern day hero because the non-profit organization he created "helps build schools and increases educational opportunities in the developing world. Since 2008 PoP has built 621 schools, supported 2534 teachers, and impacted 113,548 students in Ghana, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Laos." But that's not all. Carly explained that a school can be built with just $50,000 in these developing countries. And even that's not all. Carly further explained how she worked beginning in eighth grade to successfully raise $50,000 to build a school in Laos, an extraordinary achievement for a student her age. She is now raising money to build a second school. "Adam Braun is my hero because he has inspired both me and thousands of other students to fight for the education they deserve," she wrote. "At such a young age Braun learned that a lack of proper education can lead to health and sanitation issues, gender inequality, shortage of qualified teachers, familial economic instability, and infrastructure hardships." Contending that "quality education can not only lead to better futures it can end the cycle of poverty," Carly ended her brilliant and inspiring essay by saying, "Braun has not only taught me about the power of education, but also the significance of perseverance and how it can turn dreams that appear impossible into reality." We agree with Carly that Adam Braun belongs on the list of modern day heroes. And we also believe we can add Carly's name to that list as well!