YHS Student Wins $2,000 Essay Award

Michelle Takacs who entered the My California Story Slam contest last spring when she was a Yosemite High School junior, recently learned that she won the top prize in the Madera County division of the contest. The California Arts Council will award Michelle $1,000 and will give a matching amount to the Yosemite High School library.

Only selected counties were invited to participate in the contest in the first pilot year of the program. The contest called for students to write an autobiographical essay of 800 words or less. Winning essays will be compiled in a My California Story Slam anthology later this year.

Takacs’ essay “Moth” related an experience she had as a child and the role her grandmother had in helping her deal with the death of a “pet” moth.

Six other YHS students participated in the Madera County division of the contest: Trevor Jensen, Whitney Williamson, Ben Like, Lauren Lombardo, Johnny Baker, and Kiley Fortner.

Photo Caption: Madera County Supervisor Tom Wheeler congratulates Michelle Takacs on her $2,000 first place award in the My California Story Slam contest. Yosemite Unified School District Board Member Priscilla Pike looks on. Takacs will receive $1,000 and the YHS library will receive the same amount.