DAYTON, Ohio -- Three students were recently selected as the winners of the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force’s seventh annual student writing competition and were awarded with scholarship funds courtesy of Deloitte through the Air Force Museum Foundation. (Federal endorsement not implied.)
Lauren Smith of Beavercreek, Ohio, was the first place winner and received a $1,500 scholarship; Grace Ojala of Dayton, Ohio, was the second place winner and received a $1,000 scholarship; and Issac Heil of Camp Hill, Penn, was the third place winner and received a $500 scholarship.
The competition, now in its seventh year, was open to students between the ages of 13-18, in public, private or home-schools. More than 150 research papers were received from students from six states.
The research questions for this year’s competition were focused on the museum’s new Presidential Gallery and asked students to write about the historic events that occurred on-board some of those aircraft and how it reflected the role of the president as it is outlined in the U.S. Constitution.
Local educators determined the finalists, and those submissions were then sent on to a national-level judge at the Pentagon who decided on the three winners.
The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, is the world’s largest military aviation museum. With free admission and parking, the museum features more than 360 aerospace vehicles and missiles and thousands of artifacts amid more than 19 acres of indoor exhibit space. Each year about one million visitors from around the world come to the museum. For more information, visit www.nationalmuseum.af.mil.
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NOTE TO PUBLIC: For more information, please contact the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force Education Division at (937) 255-4652.
NOTE TO MEDIA: For more information, please contact Rob Bardua at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force Public Affairs Division at (937) 255-1386.