Essay contest winner shares important message with the community

AJ Sweet shows off his awards with his sister

By Elizabeth Richards

AJ Sweet has a message to convey: Anybody can be awesome. The third-grade student at Windham Primary School shares this message in an essay he wrote for a competition sponsored by the Cromwell Center for Disabilities Awareness. His moving essay won the third-grade prize. “I was thinking from my heart, and that’s how I was writing it,” AJ said.

The prompt for his essay was “We all have different abilities and different challenges. Why is that a good thing?” The Caring Classrooms Contest was open to any student in a classroom that has been part of the Cromwell Center’s disabilities awareness program, which is presented free of charge in schools throughout southern and central Maine.

In that program, staff from the center give a presentation on common disabilities and building awareness around them, AJ’s mother, Torrey Sweet, said. 

The contest is a follow up to that presentation. A flier promoting the contest said, “The contest is a great way for children to think about what they learned about disabilities and inclusion.”

For AJ, the topic is personal. In his essay he talks about having autism, and how that has impacted his life and attitude. 

AJ said writing the essay was really fun, and he had a great time working on it. “I have a hard time writing, but also I love to write,” he said, demonstrating the perseverance he has developed.

When he found out he was the third-grade prize winner, AJ said, “I freaked out. I was so excited.” The school recognized his accomplishment with an announcement over the intercom, and everyone in his classroom and the class next door lined up to shake his hand. “It was just a great couple of days,” AJ said.

Torrey said that AJ’s essay is a great depiction of what life is like for him and emphasizes that it’s okay to be different. “We’ve always told him his brain is a little bit different, but that doesn’t mean he’s not as smart as other kids, it doesn’t mean he can’t do the same things they do, it just takes a little bit more to do those things,” she said. AJ’s essay clearly demonstrates that he’s received and understands that important idea.

AJ said he thinks this contest is important because it allows children to “let their hearts out and let them know what they think.” When he gets the opportunity to tell people how things are for him, he said, he feels like they are really interested. “Some people get it, but some people don’t also – that’s okay. In my essay I kind of walk you through what it’s like,” he said.

When asked if he thinks this experience has helped others understand him a little better, AJ answered “I don’t think they understand me just a little bit, I think they understand me a whole bunch better. They understand how I feel, they understand my well-being, they understand me so much, and I feel like that’s really helped me get to know people.”

AJ’s father, Tony Sweet, said that although he didn’t know that AJ was writing an essay for the contest, he wasn’t surprised by the content.  “He’s always really tried to speak out for other people and his classmates,” Tony said. “We’re super proud of him, and all the things he’s done so far.”

“We were very proud of him for writing it. It’s very well-articulated, and it does do a great job of summing it up and putting it in a way that everyone can understand,” Torrey said. “It was definitely a huge win for him, and a huge win in making people more aware of this.”

AJ said he wishes everyone could have a chance to feel the way he felt when he learned he had won.  “I might never forget that minute in my life,” he said. Even more, he said, he wants people to know that they can embrace their true abilities. 

Fear of what other people will think can stop people, he said, but he thinks everyone should be able to be their true self. “Anyone can have a growth mindset. Anyone can embrace beauty on the inside. Anyone can embrace anything, because they, on the inside, are awesome,” he said.

Jordan Small Middle School student places first for Maine in SIFMA Foundation’s InvestWrite® essay competition by Elizabeth Richards

Taylor Juhase

When 12-year-old Taylor Juhase moved from Connecticut to Maine, she transitioned from private school to public school for the first time. And it was at Jordan Small Middle School in Raymond that she discovered the world of investing, through their participation in the SIFMA Foundation’s Stock Market Game™. Juhase then participated in the InvestWrite® essay competition, emerging as the first-place winner for the state of Maine.

The competition involved choosing a nonprofit organization and detailing, in writing an investment plan designed specifically for that organization. Juhase chose Save the Children. In her essay, she wrote “I chose Save the Children because I have a little brother and I would do anything to keep him safe…Save the Children believes every child deserves a future.”

Juhase said she didn’t know anything about investing before participating in the Stock Market Game™ in Jack Fitch’s math class. While she said she still doesn’t understand all of the nuances, she gained enough understanding to impress the panel of judges.

Reinforcing what they have learned in the Stock Market Game™ is what the competition is all about, according to a press release from the SIFMA Foundation. “InvestWrite® enables students to develop the personal financial savvy needed to make practical financial decision with confidence and gain a deeper understanding of economic opportunities, consequences, and benefits,” the press release read. “Students consider real-world events and news, conduct research online, and develop investment recommendations. They work in groups during The Stock Market Game program and then write their InvestWrite® essays individually to reflect their critical thinking, analysis and creative talents.”

Juhase said she found out that she won while at school. “It was exciting, but at the same time I was a little sad, because my other friend was sad that she didn’t win,” she said. This compassion that she has for others came through in her essay as well. “I am fortunate enough to have everything I need to have a good and healthy life. My family has food, water, money and a roof over our heads. I can’t even imagine a family in the world starving, having nothing at all to protect children from harm,” she wrote.

Writing about investing was challenging, Juhase said, because she didn’t know much about it prior to this experience. She researched nonprofits online, as well as information on bonds and mutual funds. Now, she said, she thinks the process is really fun. “You really get to communicate and talk about the stocks,” she said. The essay took a couple of weeks to complete, Juhase said. They had time in math class to work on it, and she received support from her teacher and some friends, she said.

All of the attention has been a little overwhelming, Juhase said, since she typically isn’t much of an attention seeker. She added that when she moved to Raymond she felt really welcomed. Her grandmother, Patricia Juhase, said she has found a nice group of friends with whom she has bonded.

Juhase and Fitch were honored at a surprise event at the school in early March. Representatives of the SIFMA Foundation and other special guests were in attendance. Juhase was awarded a medal, a trophy, a t-shirt, flowers and a $100 gift card said Patricia, who travelled from Connecticut to attend the event.

           

“When I read her essay, I was truly amazed at what she wrote, for a 12-year-old,” Patricia said. “We’re very proud of her.”

The following is Taylor Juhase’s winning essay:

Save the Children

Did you know that Save The Children helps children in 120 countries including the U.S. I chose-Save The Children because I have a little brother and I would do anything to keep him safe. I could never imagine him growing up to a terrible future or life. Save The Children believes every child deserves a future. In the U.S. and around the world, they give children a healthy start in life, and. the opportunity to learn and be protected from harm. I want to help kids my age have a good life that they deserve. This means that they need clean water and healthy food to grow to be healthy and strong. No matter what the challenge is, they always put children first in everything they do. They do everything from child protection to hunger and livelihoods. No one wants a child to be not well treated or have a horrible life.

The day I was hired by this non-profit organization I told the people in charge that in my investment strategy diversification was important because they need to protect all of their money. I diversified their funds into mutual funds which are companies that take money from investors and invest the money in securities such as stocks, bonds, and also short-term debts. The combined holdings of mutual funds. are known as portfolios. Investors buy shares in mutual funds. Each share represents an investor's part of ownership in the fund and the income generated. Bonds are very similar to loans. 

When you invest in a bond you let a company borrow your money. According to U.S. News and World Report, DFA Five-Year Global Fixed Portfolio (DFGBX) and Franklin Income Fund are good mutual funds they can invest in. The third place I invested their money was in high quality growth stocks in all the different sectors of the market to keep risk to a minimum. I believe these strategies keep Save The Children viable for years to come.

I am fortunate enough to have everything I need to have a good and healthy life. My family has food, water, money and a roof over our heads. I can't even imagine a family in the world starving, having nothing at all to protect children from harm. I think about how good of an education I get and a lot of children around the world cannot go to school. In 2012 Save The Children launched the Every Beat Matters campaign, giving Americans a way to help millions of children survive. Also, in 2012 the Syrian Civil War killed thousands of children, and many more were harmed, traumatized, or forced to leave their homes. Save The Children was keeping the children safe in very dangerous conditions.

Save The Children provided the children with the basics that they needed. In 2011 a terrible drought struck the horn of Africa. Save The Children helped about 942,000 children providing them with child friendly spaces, education and counseling services, reuniting children with their families and providing foster families if needed.

Making investment strategies will ensure that Save The Children will always have the finances to be successful and will be able to save more kids in the future.