Plano students awarded in essay contest

February 23, 10:22 AMDallas Parenting ExaminerChristy Coffman

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Ali Mavrakis and Samuel Scott were among the winners for the 2009 Presidential Prep-Time essay contest. High school students across the country answered the question, “Identify the greatest challenge that President Obama faces and describe what his administration should do about it.” The project is part of the organization 2009 Now Debate This.

“In selecting the topic, 'American Energy Independence,' I see a new opportunity to galvanize the power of America's youth to solve problems for people who are most affected by energy problems,” said Mary Hagy, Now Debate This founder. “If we create an adventure into the past for young people that invites innovative thinking to solve future problems, give them expert stewardship, and reward them with the opportunity to be heard, I believe they can discover the path to energy independence.”

Now Debate This, the country's only national online educational debate, sponsored the contest where students addressed issues concerning the environment and the economy. The 64 entries were judged on creativity, historical research and analysis, the written proposal and accompanying video, documentation and feasibility. Students completed a long essay and 10 blog essays for the contest. Scott, Plano Senior High student and first place winner, and third-place winner Mavrakis of Plano West Senior High were both awarded Apple Mac Books for their essays.

“I would like to congratulate the two men from Plano,” Hagy said. “They epitomize our mantra, which is it really is cool to be smart. What they have created, it shows that they are the promise of the future.”

For his essay, Scott wrote about going green and becoming energy efficient. He stated America’s dependence on Middle East countries for oil is a threat to national security, and cited reasons why energy is directly related to the economy. Scott also referenced the environmental policies of such pollution-effected countries as China and India to make his point as to where the U.S. could be headed if something isn’t done to fix the environment.

Mavrakis thought that the greatest challenge to the Obama administration would be that of transparency and “finding a way to tell the American people what is going on, while still making executive decisions not swayed by the popularity of that action.” Mavrakis used current events such as the allegations and subsequent impeachment against former Illinois Gov. Ron Blagojevich and the Iraq war to show how Americans are frustrated by the government. He said Obama must be willing to promote transparency in all aspects of Washington and he must work with Congress.

The remaining finalists were second-place winner Alexandra Proko, fourth-place winner Luckmini Liyanage and fifth-place winner Carrick Porter. Liyanage and Porter each received $1,000 college scholarships for their essays.

Hagy is a former director of public affairs for the U.S. Army Toxic and Hazardous Materials Agency, now the U.S. Army Environmental Command. She said she came up with the idea for the debate program while working on a history project. She felt America’s youth needed to be part of the idea to create a conversation between Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. The history project was eventually the 2008 debate topic, “Which was the greater best president: Lincoln or Washington?”

“The response from the first year led me to the decision that it was a great success,” Hagy said. “The youth response was great. With this kind of structure history became fun; we created an online environment that makes it cool for kids to be smart. They can have and express their opinions.”

Now Debate This, in partnership with the National Forensic League speech and debate honor society, will also sponsor the “The 100-Day Presidential Challenge,” which asks all high school students from across America to research their communities' biggest energy problems and develop energy solution proposals they can implement at the community level. Winners will be announced in May and will earn a $5,000 clean technology prize for their school or organization and an opportunity to share ideas with President Obama's energy officials, Congress, and the energy industry.

The Now Debate This scholarship program is for high school juniors to compete for $250,000 in college scholarship money. The program will issue a call for video entry submissions to be posted to YouTube.com and SchoolTube.com in late February. The 16 semi-finalists are scheduled to be announced in May, with a summer travel study program beginning in late June and ending with the debate tournament in August. All three programs are part of the 2009 program theme, “How can the U.S. achieve energy independence?”

To read the full text of Scott’s essay, visit http://confab.nowdebatethis.com/profiles/blogs/presidential-preptime-obamas. To read Mavrakis’ essay, visit http://confab.nowdebatethis.com/profiles/blogs/presidential-preptime-for.

For information visit www.nowdebatethis.com.

by Heather M. Smith, Staff writer, Plano Courier