Young parishioners earn fi rst place in U.S. Catholic Textbook Project contest

By Claire Collins

Two homeschool students in the Diocese of Knoxville were named the winners of the Catholic Textbook Project’s annual History Essay Contest.

Anna Hargett and Julian Crace, parishioners of Holy Ghost and members of the St. Benedict Co-Op, were the fourth- and fifthgrade winners. Their essays featured influential members of the Diocese of Knoxville and highlighted their contributions to the region.

In the fourth-grade division, students were asked to write about their state’s history, an important historical figure in their state, or an important historical site in their state. Anna chose to write about her grandfather, former state representative Bill Dunn, and the contributions he has made to Tennessee.

When asked what inspired her to write about her grandfather, Anna said, “He always was really good to me, and he just popped into my mind. … It was kind of hard because there were so many things that I had to put in it. But in the end, it turned out to be a really good experience.”

She chose two areas of focus for her essay: how Mr. Dunn helped students and homeschool students, too, and his contributions to the pro-life movement in Tennessee. She used newspaper clippings for her research and even sat down for an interview with him.

In her essay, Anna said, “While he was in office he helped Tennessee become a more pro-life state. Although he respected life in the womb he also deeply cared about children after they were born, which made him care about their education. Most significantly, Dunn let his faith guide him during his time in office. Boldly, Dunn worked to make Tennessee a great place to live. Many Tennesseans were proud to call Dunn their state representative. I am proud because he is my grandpa.”

Anna, who is 9, had first-hand experience with her grandfather’s work as a state representative, remembering campaigning for him when she was younger.

“We would put on our Bill Dunn shirts and walk around and campaign,” Anna recalled. “It was really fun.”

Anna’s mother, Elizabeth Hargett, is proud of her daughter’s hard work and thankful for the encouragement of her teacher, Lindy Crace.

“I was very excited,” Mrs. Hargett said.

“I put it all to Mrs. Lindy Crace. It was a lot of hard work, but she really helped the kids grow as writers, and it was just really great to see the fruits of Anna’s hard work. You can write well when you’re excited about the topic that you’re going to write about. And she was really excited to let people know about her Paboo and what he had done. So, it was neat to see her excited about it and her hard work and then get to be rewarded for it. ”

When asked how she found out about winning, Anna shared, “We were having rest time, and my mom called me down.

I thought it was an emergency. So, I came down and she said, ‘Anna you won!’ and I just couldn’t control myself.”

The prize, $100, was another added bonus