Celebrate America: Immigration Writing Program Unites Young Voices

SAN ANTONIO - May 21, 2015 - PRLog -- SAN ANTONIO, TX – The Celebrate America writing program offers students learning opportunities  beyond their classes and state-mandated tests. It is a chance for them to learn their heritage, to share their stories, and to understand what America has gained from the cultures of its immigrants. As Aaliyah Hernandez, a fifth-grader at Douglass Elementary School, writes, "We have all learned from each other and taken the best ideas and thoughts from our immigrants to make America what it is today."

Aaliyah Hernandez placed second among all public school students in the San Antonio chapter of the program for the 2014-2015 school year. Benjamin Weichman, of Bonham Academy, placed first, and Emerald Gonzales, of Cleto Rodriguez Elementary School, placed third.

Blessed Sacrament Catholic School dominated the private and home-school category with three winning students:

* 1st place: Isabella Galvan
* 2nd place: Eric Martinez
* 3rd place: Amy Osborn

Sponsored nationally by the American Immigration Council (and facilitated locally since 2004 by the law firm De Mott, McChesney, Curtright, and Armendáriz, LLP), Celebrate America invites fifth-grade students (in public, private, and home schools) to share their thoughts and experiences on the subject of immigration. Over the years, winning students have written poems, essays, and short stories based on the subject "Why I Am Glad America Is A Nation of Immigrants."

Christan Clark, Senior Program Coordinator at the Institute of Texan Cultures, served as a judge in the 2015 program. As he explains, “The mission of Celebrate America is the same as the mission of the Institute: to show how different cultures have come together to shape the history of our state, our nation. And that was reflected in this year's entries.” Echoing Clark's words, Emerald Gonzales writes, "Being a Nation of Immigrants allows us to come together and build a better country for everyone.”

Irma Gonzalez, fifth-grade teacher at Blessed Sacrament Catholic School, explains that the school has made the program a part of its curriculum. “It's a chance for students to expand on the lectures and the STAAR test,” she says, “and apply what they've learned. It's a chance to further develop their writing and thinking skills. And most of all, it's a chance to connect with their history and heritage.”

Benjamin Weichman and Isabella Galvan will each receive a $100 cash prize and a replica of the Statue of Liberty; the second and third place students will also receive cash prizes.

The winning students will be recognized on Thursday, May 28 at an official naturalization ceremony, taking place at the

Edgewood Theatre of Performing Arts (402 Lance St., San Antonio, TX 78237), at 2:00pm. During the ceremony, the students will read their entries before an audience of new United States citizens. Claire Tesh, Community Education Center Senior Manager for the American Immigration Council, will also attend. “I came to San Antonio for the awards ceremony in 2013,” she says, “and it was inspiring to be part of the experience, both for the students and for all the people becoming citizens that day.”

Those citizens will hear the words of students like Eric Martinez, who shares the gift they will receive: "I am grateful that my ancestors left me the gift of freedom."

For more information on the Celebrate America program, please visit the San Antonio chapter's page at www.celebrateamericawritingcontest.org.