Periodically, essay contests are held within the Weehawken school system, encouraging students to write about a certain issue or topic. Usually, the essays are judged and prizes are awarded. The prizes generally range from perhaps a U.S. savings bond or a certificate of appreciation. Maybe there’s a trophy involved. A hearty handshake and a broad smile also accompany the honor.
However, when word filtered through the seventh and eighth grades at Weehawken High School that the grand prize for the latest essay contest was a brand new complete personal computer system, needless to say, the bar was raised a little and the essays became just a tad more important.
Maryellen White is an administrative manager for Client Logic Specialists, a worldwide Internet services company that handles marketing over the World Wide Web. Client Logic has one of its corporate offices located at 1200 Harbor Blvd. in Weehawken.
White also happens to be a Weehawken native and a product of the Weehawken school system. She learned that her company had initiated a program throughout the United States, presenting free personal computer systems to middle school students who wrote the best essays on the topic, “How Computers Are Being Used to Change Lives Today.”
“The contests were held at our offices in Las Vegas, Albuquerque, Buffalo, Nashville, Dover, Delaware and Davie, Florida,” White explained last week. “The program is part of our marketing budget and was initiated to make people more aware of our company and also help to educate students about the use of computers and the Internet. It helps the students become more aware of the information technology that is available and helps them to become more computer literate.”
Seeing the opportunity to begin the program and the contest in her hometown, White contacted Weehawken High School Principal Dr. Peter Olivieri and told him of the program.
“I thought it was a nice idea,” Olivieri said. “To have a writing assignment and the ultimate goal was a prize like a computer. It was a program where every seventh and eighth grader had a chance to participate and win.”
So teacher Linda Shertel posted a flier in the classrooms, promoting the contest. It definitely caught the eye of the students. No certificates of appreciation this time around. The loot was for real with this essay contest.
Eighth grader Shawn Pierre was determined to make sure that he had the perfect entry.
“I wrote a whole bunch of outlines about what I wanted to write about,” Pierre said. “I changed things and moved things around a few times. I wanted to make sure I got things right.”
After all, a computer was on the line.
“The one I have is pretty much broken,” Pierre said. “It’s pretty old. Nope, make that it’s really old and really broken. So this was a very good opportunity for me to get a new one.”
Seventh grader Francis Petrie was also poised to seize the moment.
“The computer we have at home, I usually have to share with my two brothers,” Petrie said. “They’re always trying to do something and I never get much of a chance to get on the computer. When Ms. Shertel put it up on the board, I thought it was a great opportunity for me to get my own. I know other people were pretty confident that they were going to win. I really didn’t know.”
After all of the essays were read, Weehawken teachers narrowed down the entries to 18 finalists, which were read and judged by the Client Logic staff. Upon review of the 18, Client Logic determined that Petrie had the best entry among the seventh grade students and Pierre stood ahead of the class among the eighth grade essays. “They were innovative and well written essays on the topic,” White said.
Last Tuesday, the two young men went to the Client Logic headquarters and received their Dell Pentium III processor and Epsom 36M Pro Series printer, state-of-the-art equipment valued at $2,500 each, from Lon Mandel, Client Logic’s marketing services officer. The computers are equipped with an internal modem, a sound card and stereo speakers.
“We think it’s a wonderful project and we’re happy to give back to the community in any way that we can,” Mandel said.
Could be annual
It’s safe to say that the students were excited.
“It’s a great feeling,” Pierre said. “I’ll have no more problems at home. Maybe after a while, my mother will let me sign up for the Internet.”
“I think it will be a good motivator for other students to write well,” Petrie said. “Other kids will see how happy we are, so they will want to write better essays and perhaps get a chance to win a computer as well.”
Client Logic already has plans to make the contest an annual event in Weehawken, which makes White very happy.
“It was a good feeling for me to go back to the schools where I went and I know it’s an overwhelming feeling for these students to win this,” White said.
Shertel couldn’t say enough about the talents of the students.
“These two boys are just exceptional students,” Shertel said. “They are definitely serious about everything they do. I think winning the computer was a great incentive factor and the great thing was that everyone had a chance to win. If the opportunity comes again, then the students know that they have to put the time in to try to win. But Shawn and Francis really put the time into the essays, to make sure that they were just right and they deserved to win.”