YouTube Transcription: ABC News Coverage of Our Essay Contest
This is ABC 7 News at 6.
Carolyn Johnson: Students nationwide were asked to write an essay based on the question “Does diversity matter?” 1,500 students age 12 to 17 sent in their papers to the National Campaign to Restore Civil Rights. The top honor went to a high school student from the East Bay. ABC 7’s education reporter Lyanne Melendez talked to the winner.
Lyanne Melendez: Jody Leung says a recent school trip to Washington D.C. changed her life.
Jody Leung: I learned that we can make a difference as teenagers and so I thought about this essay contest when I heard about it… I thought maybe I could make a difference and help people understand my experiences.
Lyanne Melendez: She read us part of her winning essay. By the way the flags in the background represent the different cultures at her school, James Logan High in Union City.
Jody Leung: Many students at my school and I have noticed that we achieve our aspirations when we work together as a team. Our different cultures are like puzzle pieces, when we put them together they are the perfect fit.
Lyanne Melendez: Those words helped her win the top honor given by the National Campaign to Restore Civil Rights. The ACLU helped judge the contest, so did the Reverend Al Sharpton.
Jody Leung: The people who read my essay, I was really happy that they actually listen to students and listen to teenagers to see what they have to say in their own issues that they have, that they are impacted by.
Lyanne Melendez: In her essay Jody writes that at Logan High diversity really matters.
Alberto Solorzano: They appreciate the different people that we have at this school, they’re conscious of the different religions that are here, the different practices that these different cultures bring.
Lyanne Melendez: Several languages are taught here, Spanish, Mandarin, French, Tagalog and Punjabi. Jody’s essay spoke of the 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education decision, which outlawed racial segregation in schools. Today it’s being challenged before the Supreme Court. Jody will fly to New York City to receive her $500 prize on May 21st. Four days after the anniversary of Brown vs. the Board of Education, she says it’s not so much about the money, but about being able to convey her message of tolerance and understanding towards others.
Jody Leung: When we grow up as adults we’ll be able understand them and it’s better for the workforce and for the world in world in general.