LAKE FOREST PARK — Shorecrest High School junior Anna Legeros took advantage of a career center scholarship opportunity and is reaping the benefits in the form of an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., and more than $3,000 in cash awards and scholarships.
Legeros participated in a speech competition organized by the Veterans of Foreign Wars called Voice of Democracy and entered through Seattle Post 4137. After taking first place at the Post and district levels, she also won the top honor in the state in February, when she competed against 15 other participants.
“I was very surprised,” Legeros said. “I didn’t think I was going to win.”
Legeros traveled to Washington, D.C., March 5-9 and spent time seeing the sights, listening to speakers and meeting President Bush.
“Just to meet the President and stand 5 feet away from him … it was amazing,” Legeros said.
The focus of the trip, the 17-year-old said, was on educating the students on history and veterans’ issues. Seeing the monuments helped Legeros realize the sacrifices veterans made throughout history, she said.
“When you see those, it does make you realize how important they were for our country,” Legeros said.
Each state winner who traveled to D.C. received a scholarship. The national winner was awarded a $25,000 scholarship, said Gary Herker, Washington state chairman for the VFW’s Voice for Democracy program.
Paulette Noble, the president of Washington’s Ladies Auxiliary, has been involved in Voice of Democracy for more than 10 years. Noble enjoys hearing what the students have to say and providing them with scholarships.
The contest was started more than 50 years ago by the National Association of Broadcasters, Noble said, and its goal is to recognize students.
It’s also an opportunity to get students interested in history, she said.
“It’s there to promote patriotism,” Noble said.
Although Voice for Democracy is only open to high school students, there are options for younger students, Herker said. He mentioned two other competitions sponsored by the VFW, which are open to students in elementary and middle schools.
Legeros has previously competed in speech competitions, but they have primarily been through her church. She said she has never won an award like this before, and she encouraged other students to apply for more scholarships, since many exist and few people apply.
Herker agreed.
“There’s a lot of opportunities out there for students who enjoy writing and are good at writing,” Herker said.
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