Rockville Student Earns Governor’s Citation for Essay
A Rockville fourth-grader is expected to get a Governor’s Citation for being one of ten regional winners of the Maryland Municipal League’s annual “If I Were Mayor” essay contest.
2015 MML Essay Contest Winners
PHOTO | Maryland
Governor Larry Hogan and other State and municipal leaders are scheduled to recognize the winners in a ceremony at the State House in Annapolis Thursday afternoon. Each winning student will receive a Governor’s Citation, an award plaque and a $100 cash prize from MML. Immediately following the ceremony, the students – along with their families and teachers – will be invited for boat ride out of Annapolis, on the Harbor Queen, according to a press release from MML.
Raquel Tolin of Farmland Elementary School in Rockville was the District 5 winner which included Montgomery and Howard counties, according to MML spokesperson Henry Halley.
MML’s “If I Were Mayor, I Would…” contest has, since its inception in 2001, challenged students to learn about civic duty and the important role of municipal governments, by creatively developing a vision of what they would do as mayor. This year, the students were challenged to tackle some challenges that a mayor may face in a fictional town called “Happy Town,” including questions related to constructing new park facilities. Each 275-word essay had to begin with: “If I Were Mayor, I would…” and answer three open-ended questions based on the 2015 theme, “Respect.” A complete list of the student honorees and the schools they attend are found on the MML website at http://mdmunicipal.org/index.aspx?nid=374.
You can read Raquel’s essay below.
I imagine how many students took part in this competition and how many fantasies were written on paper. I think if people like Rachel make decisions in our government, than cities in our country will be green and people will spend their time walking and doing sport, not for computer games and social networks.