Wednesday, October 20, 1999
Teen cleans up with $1,000 prize
He writes top paper on environment
BY TERRY FLYNN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COVINGTON — Holmes High School junior Andrew Baker wasn't expecting a visitor in his international baccalaureate English class Tuesday, especially a visitor with a $1,000 check bearing his name.
“Is this about that paper I wrote?” the Latonia boy said cautiously when representatives from the Oceanic Adventures Newport Aquarium and Fifth Third Bank walked into Ruth Johnson's classroom.
The paper the 16-year-old was talking about was an essay on preserving the environment and cleaning up the waterways that won first place in a contest that helped launch the aquarium's education program.
“Can I sign the back and cash it?” Andrew said with a smile as he accepted the oversized cardboard check that was part of the presentation.
Soon after receiving the prize, he called his mother, Sarah Baker, a teacher at Ruth Moyer Elementary in Fort Thomas, to give her the good news.
Ms. Johnson's entire class of about 30 students wrote essays for the contest.
One of Andrew's classmates, Natalie Westkamp, was runner-up in the grades 9-12 category, earning a $500 savings bond and an aquarium family membership.
In addition to the $1,000 prize, which Andrew said would go immediately to his college fund, the entire class will have a party at the aquarium, compliments of the bank and the aquarium.
Aquarium public relations director Lisa Popyk, who was one of the judges for the contest, said she was impressed with the number of contest entries from all over Greater Cincinnati.
“Maybe even more impres sive was the quality of the entries,” she said. “The students put a lot of thought and effort into the research and the writing.
“There were some very clever ideas on how to preserve the environment, cut down on litter and preserve our waterways.”
Aquarium marketing director Lori Broomhead said there were approximately 1,500 entries, including 500 in the 1-4 grade category, 700 in the grades 5-8 category and 300 at the high school level.
The third-place winner at the high school level was Lauren Mays, a junior at Conner High School in Hebron. The third-place prize in each age group was a $250 savings bond and an aquarium family membership.
The winner in the grades 5-8 category was Colerain Middle School sixth-grader Chris Corrado; second place, Chelsey DeMarcus, a seventh- grader at Turkey Foot Middle School in Edgewood; and third place, John Robert Bartlett, a home-schooled sixth-grader from Milford.
First place in the grades 1-4 category went to Alex Washick, a second-grader at North Avondale Montessori; second place, Lauren Hadden, a fourth-grader at St. Vivian School in Finneytown; and third place, Ian J. Cummins, a third-grader at Oakdale Elementary in Bridgetown.
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