St. Anselm's Student Named “Senator for a Day” in Annual Contest

Brooklyn- State Senator Marty Golden (R-C-I, 22nd District), hosted his 9th Annual “State Senator For A Day” essay contest ceremony last week at Public School 204 in Brooklyn and is announcing that Samantha Najjar of the 7th Grade at St. Anselm's Roman Catholic School was the winner. Sophia Cappellini of the 8th Grade at Visitation Academy was the second place winner and Viktoria Guzak of the 8th Grade Intermediate School 259, William McKinley Junior High School, was the third place winner.

The contests invited local students of grades 6, 7, and 8, throughout District 20, 21, and 22 to submit an essay of no more than 250-words that begins with the phrase, “If I were a State Senator for a Day...”. Thirty students were selected to read their essays aloud before a panel of judges and were scored based on content and creativity. The judges included Paula Katinas, Managing Editor of the Bay Ridge Eagle, Joel Garson, Publisher of Our News, and Christina Tettonis, Principal of the Hellenic Classical Charter School in Brooklyn.

Senator Marty Golden stated, "I congratulate all the finalists and all the students that participated in this year's contest. Also, a very special thank you to all the teachers and principals of the many schools who were part of the 2011 contest for their participation. The contest has always served as a valuable educational learning tool and the students always address concerns in their essays that are truly reflective of the needs of this neighborhood."

The winner of the contest and their class will now be invited to Albany where they will see the legislative process in action. The second and third place winners receive a $100 bond and a $50 bond respectively.