Virginia War Memorial Announces Winners of 2023 Veterans Day Student Essay Contest

An eighth-grade student from Henrico County and a high school junior from Fairfax County were the first-place winners in the Virginia War Memorial’s 2023 Veterans Day Student Essay Contest. The winners were announced at the 67^th Annual Veterans Day Ceremony held Friday, November 10 at the Virginia War Memorial in Richmond.

The winner in the middle school category is David Contreras, an 8^th grade homeschooled student who lives in Henrico. His teacher is his mother, Rachel Contreras.

The winner in the high school category is Mia Ramos, a 11^th grade student at W. T. Woodson High School in Fairfax.  Her teacher is Ashley Kipperman.

Virginia Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears with the two winning students at the ceremony.

The annual competition was open to middle and high school-age students residing in Virginia and enrolled in public or private schools or homeschooled.  The essay topic for the 2023 competition was “A Virginian Who Served in the Military During the Korean War Era Who Inspires Me.”

Both contest winners were invited to Richmond accompanied by their parents, guardians and teachers where they read their essays aloud as part of the Veterans Day Ceremony on stage in the E. Bruce Heilman Amphitheater at the Virginia War Memorial. The students were personally congratulated by and Virginia Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears; Major General James W. Ring, Adjutant General of Virginia; Virginia Department of Veterans Services Commissioner Daniel Gade; and Virginia War Memorial Director Dr. Clay Mountcastle.

The students also received prize packages donated by McDonald’s Restaurants of Richmond and Hampton Roads and the Virginia War Memorial Foundation.

“We are pleased to join Lieutenant Governor Earle-Sears, Commissioner Gade and all our fellow Virginians in congratulating Mia and David on their winning entries in the Virginia War Memorial’s 2023 Veterans Day Student Essay Contest.  Congratulations also to all of the students from throughout the Commonwealth that took the time to write essays and submit essays this year,” said Dr. Clay Mountcastle, Virginia War Memorial Director.

“Educating our young people and passing on the stories of service and sacrifice of our men and women who served is one of our most important missions here at the Virginia War Memorial. With their inspiring words, both written and presented in person during the Veterans Day Ceremony, these two inspiring students demonstrate the importance of this vital mission.”

The winning essays are posted online on the Virginia War Memorial Foundation website: vawarmemorial.org/learn/contests-scholarships/essays.