Pasadena Memorial High School students have given something to write home about with their performances in regional, state and local essay competitions recently.

Andy Ho was a first place winner for the state of Texas in the National Peace Essay Contest, sponsored by the National Peace Institute. The topic of his essay was “Youth and Violent Conflict.” In his written piece, Ho analyzed two countries using child soldiers and formulated a solution to reintegrate child soldiers into society.

Ho received a $1,000 scholarship and a trip to Washington, D.C. where he and National Peace Essay delegates will visit with senators and officials from other countries. Ho’s essay has now been entered into the national competition.

“This is a great honor for Andy,” said Patricia Cain, English teacher at Pasadena Memorial High School. “We are very proud of him.”

Recent Memorial graduate Erica Clark was a first place regional winner in the Federal Reserve Essay Contest. Clark competed against other students from the 11th District of the Federal Reserve Bank, which includes Texas, Louisiana and a portion of Arkansas. The topic of Clark’s essay was “Globalization: Miracle or Menace.”

Clark received a $1,000 savings bond and was flown to Dallas for a banquet for the top 10 students in the competition. She is a students’ representative for the Federal Reserve Bank and was recently named as salutatorian of the Memorial graduating class. She was a student in Blake Emmons’ advanced placement Economics class.

Locally, Melissa Hendricks was a first place winner in the Pasadena Public Library contest, while Erin Martino took third place in the competition. Earning honorable mentions in the contest were Baies Zayed, Tori Forlenza, Joel Aldaco and Zachary Coykendahl.