Student Art & Essay Contest
About the Contest
The annual ASYMCA Art and Essay Contest is officially launched every November and is open to all eligible children of U.S. active duty or retired service members. Winners are chosen the following Spring.
Winners of both the art and essay contests have their winning entries displayed in a number of locations in the Washington, D.C., area, including in the Russell Rotunda, and are recognized at an annual luncheon on Capitol Hill. ASYMCA awards U.S. Savings bonds totaling $7,600 to 1st and 2nd place winners of both contests, as well as honorable mention recipients of the essay contest.
“Our annual art and essay contest allows children to express their love, appreciation and admiration for their military heroes,” said Mike Landers, CAPT, USN (Ret), and national executive director of ASYMCA. “Their essays and artwork also serve to remind us of the sacrifices our men and women in uniform, and their families, make each day for our country.”
Entries for the art contest depict the theme, “My Military Family.” Co-sponsored by GEICO, the art contest promotes art among children in grades K–6 of active duty or retired (with 20+ years of service) members of the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard and National Guard/Reserves families.
Co-sponsored by Lockheed Martin, the essay contest promotes reading and writing among children and teens of active duty military or retirees from all six branches, and students in grades 1–12 are asked to write about “My Military Hero.”
2012 Art & Essay Contest Entry Forms
2012 ESSAY CONTEST
2012 ART CONTEST
- Art Contest Flyer
- Art Contest Entry Format
- Art Contest Entry Form
- Art Contest Media Release – Embargoed
2011 Art Contest Winners
Sponsored by Geico
Air Force
1st Place: Pierce Condon, 6th grade, Mesa, Ariz.
2nd Place: Mahkaela Walker, 5th grade, APO
Army
1st Place: Alisa Nascimento, 6th grade, APO
2nd Place: Heavan Rojas, 6th grade, Fort Knox, Ky.
Coast Guard
1st Place: Rory McPherson, 3rd grade, Portsmouth, N.H.
2nd Place: Megan Gradel, 5th grade, Maryland Heights, Mo.
Marine Corps
1st Place: Trip Carroll, 4th grade, Montgomery, Ala.
2nd Place: Mica Martinez, 3rd grade, Oceanside, Calif.
National Guard/Reserves
1st Place: Ashley Gardner, 4th grade, Beaufort, S.C.
2nd Place: Jada Davison, 6th grade, Montgomery, Ala.
Navy
1st Place: Christopher J. Crane, 2nd grade, Annapolis, Md.
2nd Place: Jordyn Woodson, 4th grade, Beaufort, S.C.
2011 Essay Contest Winners
Sponsored by Lockheed Martin
First & Second Grades
1st Place: Isabella Stobert, 2nd grade, West Seneca, N.Y. | Press Release
2nd Place: Isabel Pineiro, 1st grade, San Clementa, Calif. | Press Release
Third & Fourth Grades
1st Place: Peter Blalock, 3rd grade, Ellsworth AFB, S.D. | Press Release
2nd Place: Brianna Zimmerman, 4th grade, Broken Arrow, Okla. | Press Release
Fifth & Sixth Grades
1st Place: Rachael Castle-Ortega, 6th grade, Fort Riley, Kan. | Press Release
2nd Place: Psalms Doucettperry, 6th grade, Woodbridge, Va. | Press Release
Seventh & Eighth Grades
1st Place: Kaitlyn Nicole Woodruff, 8th grade, Valdosta, Ga.| Press Release
2nd Place: Gabrielle Every, 8th grade, Rosamond, Calif. | Press Release
Ninth & Tenth Grades
1st Place: Joshua M.D. Nascimento, 9th grade, APO, AP | Press Release
2nd Place: Krystle Goetz, 9th grade, Minneapolis, Kan.| Press Release
Eleventh & Twelfth Grades
1st Place: Kelly Geasley, 12th grade, Spring Hill, Tenn. | Press Release
2nd Place: Rebecah Lynn McManus, 12th grade, Aiken, S.C. | Press Release
