Winning Students Share An American Vision

SAN ANTONIO - May 9, 2013 - PRLog -- “We are the clay of America and immigrants mold us and the country.”

With those words, Riley Smith shares a vision of the American Dream, answering the call for entries in the fifth-grade creative writing program "Celebrate America" (sponsored by the American Immigration Council, and locally facilitated by the immigration law firm De Mott, McChesney, Curtright & Armendariz).  Now, Smith is one of six students celebrating their selection as the program's winning writers.

"We're now in our tenth year of working with the Council on this event," says Joseph B. De Mott, the founding partner of De Mott, McChesney, Curtright & Armendariz “and it makes us proud to see how much it has grown.  This year, we've had submissions from across the city - from public schools, private schools, and home schooled students – and our judges were impressed with the number of quality submissions.”

Those judges included Lupita Barrera, Director of Education and Interpretation at the Institute of Texan Cultures; Nina Duran, Editor in Chief of La Prensa; and Steve Spriester, anchor and reporter at KSAT 12.  Alongside a Junior Panel of past winners, they chose the entries that best represented the program's theme, "Why I Am Glad America Is A Nation Of Immigrants."

In the public school category, Promise Pitman, a student at Wilshire Elementary School, placed first overall with her entry.  Hannah Dowling, of Northern Hills Elementary, placed second, and Smith, of Huebner Elementary, placed third.  (Smith and Dowling are both participants in the Kids Involvement Network, an afterschool program sponsored by the North East Independent School District; three students from the same program were selected as winners in 2012.)

In the category for private school and homeschooled students, Peyton James Martin, a student at Holy Name Catholic School, placed first, followed by Kiki Martin of Blessed Sacrament Catholic School, and Madeline Navejar, also of Holy Name.  (This is the first year that Holy Name has been represented among the winners.)

As in previous years, the winning students have been invited by U.S. Magistrate Judge John Primomo to present their entries before an audience of new American citizens, and the general public, at a naturalization ceremony taking place at Laurie Auditorium (1 Trinity Pl, San Antonio, TX 78212) on Thursday, May 30, at 2:00pm.  They will also receive cash grants and other prizes, and one student, chosen by the Junior Panel, will receive a family membership from the Institute of Texan Cultures.

One outstanding entrant from programs across the U.S. will be selected to attend the Council’s 16th Annual Benefit Dinner, to be held in San Francisco, California in June, and to have his or her entry posted in the Congressional Record, to remain a vital part of U.S. History.

For De Mott, the program’s greatest reward is the opportunity it gives students to make their voices heard.  “One of the messages of 'Celebrate America' is that everyone has something to contribute to our national conversation,” he says, “and those contributions – just like the contributions of our immigrants – make us a stronger, better nation.”

Or, as Pitman writes in her essay, “Before we all came to this great nation America was just a pot of water. ... Now our big melting pot is full of flavor and spices because we all came together."