GRANITEVILLE, SC - The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Celebration Steering Committee, in partnership with Aiken Technical College, the University of South Carolina Aiken, and Aiken County Public Schools, is pleased to announce the winners of the 2022 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Essay and Creative Visual Poster contests.
Contest winners were recognized during the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Celebration held Sunday, January 23, 2022, at 3:00 p.m. in the USC Aiken Convocation Center.
The keynote address for the event was delivered by U.S. House Majority Whip, Congressman James E. Clyburn. He serves as the third-ranking Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives and has represented South Carolina’s sixth congressional district since 1993.
Kindergarten through fifth-grade students in Aiken County participated in the creative visual poster contest. Their original designs represented what the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday means to them.
The following students submitted the winning entries for the kindergarten to second-grade category:
- First place: Riley Hatcher, Oakwood-Windsor Elementary School
- Second place: Darcy Major, North Augusta Elementary School
- Third place: Ethan Ewing, Busbee Elementary School
The following students submitted winning entries for the third to fifth-grade category:
- First place: Micah Lunsford, Busbee Elementary School
- Second place: Joslyn Creech, North Aiken Elementary School
- Third place: Raegan-Taylor Gilyard, Millbrook Elementary School
Students who participated in the sixth- through 12th-grade essay contest were asked to explain what a selected quote from Dr. King meant to them. The quote chosen by the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Steering Committee members was: “Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
Middle school students' essays could not exceed 1,000 words, while the maximum word count for high school essays was 1,500 words.
The following students submitted winning entries for middle school:
- First place: Adrianna Ashley, Langley-Bath-Clearwater Middle School
- Second place: Christopher Grover, Langley-Bath-Clearwater Middle School
- Third place: McKayla Smith, Langley-Bath-Clearwater Middle School
The following students submitted winning entries for high school:
- First place: Kimberly Morris, Aiken High School
- Second place: Brianna Odle, Silver Bluff High School
- Third place: Rena Humes, Aiken Scholars Academy
Whether they attend a public or private school or are homeschooled, all students in Aiken County were eligible to participate in the contests.
Winning poster entries were displayed during the community celebration.
Aiken Technical College and the University of South Carolina Aiken serve as co-presenters for the annual celebration.
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LINK TO AIKEN TECHNICAL COLLEGE PRESS RELEASE: 2022 MLK CONTEST WINNERS