By Staff Reports
Two budding young writers – Branford High School juniors Lucy Peterson and Clare Barnett – were recently selected for a 2023 Achievement Awards for Writing, given by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).
The NCTE Achievement Awards in Writing is a school-based writing program established in 1957 to encourage high school students to write and to recognize some of the best student writers in the nation.
In Connecticut, Peterson was one of five students who earned the highest distinction of First Class. Barnett received a distinction of Superior. Each student submitted a piece of writing around the prompt “Education First.” Two independent judges scored each submission on expression of ideas, language use, and unique perspective and voice.
“Both Clare and Lucy are incredibly thoughtful and creative thinkers. During the year, they both exhibited a passion for writing, which was evident in the work they did for the NCTE contest,” said Bing Miller, who teachers Honors American Literature and nominated both of them for the contest. “The two of them are also very curious and diligent. Neither one of them shies away from hard work or constructive feedback on their writing. It has been a joy working with them this year.”
Lucy, who lives with her parents in Short Beach, is very close with her family and enjoys spending time with them, discussing philosophical topics and ideas, she said. She enjoys riding horses, and she is the manager of a nearby barn, where she also gives riding lessons.
Lucy has always enjoyed reading and writing and loves learning new things through the written work of others. Starting in about 7th grade, writing became an outlet for her and has helped her express complex emotions that she would not be able to convey without writing. Lucy hopes to inspire others to also write and she hopes to share her passion with the world more in the future.
“In her essay, Lucy told a personal story about her efforts at overcoming a learning disability that has helped motivate her in school,” Miller said. “She worked hard to effectively present an immediate point of view in the story that brought her struggles poignantly to life on the page.”
Clare is a high school student enthralled by most things historical, and she interns at the Madison Historical Society with the costume collection housed there. Out of this work reorganizing and cataloging the collection has come the publication Costume in Detail, a bi-monthy newsletter highlighting historical contexts from which garments emerge. Her other interests include art and music history, painting, sewing historical reproduction garments, and making her own daily clothing.
“Clare’s writing is very sophisticated and insightful,” Miller said. “The piece she submitted to NCTE was a combination of a scholarly approach to some theories of education that were blended with her own personal experiences as a student.”
This year, schools across the country nominated 360 students. Of those 114 received First Class designations and 131 received a Superior designation.
Last year, student Alya Bagdas earned an NCTE Award for Superior Writing through the same contest.
