The Green River Regional Educational Cooperative has named winners of its 2021 Writing Contest, which prompted students to ask their family and community members the question: “How do people grow and change in the face of adversity?”

The one catch, according to GRREC Executive Director Bart Flener, was that students couldn’t write about the pandemic and disruption to daily life it unleashed.

The contest, which GRREC is hoping to make an annual competition, aimed to help students learn what it takes to build character and grit, Flener said. The past year has likely been a good teacher, Flener added.

“They probably gained some resiliency from the last 12 months that they may have not realized,” Flener said of students in GRREC’s region.

The contest was open to students in the fourth, seventh and 10th grades attending schools in one of GRREC’s member school districts. Each grade level was awarded with a $150 award for first place, $100 for second and $50 for third, with the grand prize totaling $200.

This year’s winners included the following students:

Overall winner ($200 gift card): Victoria Musser, a fourth grader at W.R. McNeill Elementary School. Contest entry: “My Momma: A Peruvian Immigrant.”

First place, fourth grade student: Kyla Curry. Contest entry: “My Dad’s Adversity Through Segregation.” School: W.R. McNeill Elementary.

Second place, fourth grade student: Phoebe Shepherd. Contest entry: “Resilience Through Multiple Sclerosis.” School: W.R. McNeill Elementary.

Third place, fourth grade student: Mustafa Alhussein. Contest entry: “Interviewing My Dad.” School: Jennings Creek Elementary School.

First place, seventh grade student: Macklan Blake. Contest entry: “Ice Storm, the Witch and the Wardrobe.” School: Muhlenberg North Middle School.

Second place, seventh grade student: Hadley Borders. Contest entry: “The Last Pitch.” School: James E. Bazzell Middle School.

Third place, seventh grade student: Nathan Carmack. Contest entry: “The Struggles of Living.” School: James E. Bazzell Middle.

First place, 10th grade student: Brakenna Kirk. Contest entry: “Adversity.” School: Cumberland County High School.

Second place, 10th grade student: Mya Kelly. Contest entry: “Adversity.” Owensboro High School.

Third place, 10th grade student: Coby Hoffman. Contest entry: (untitled). School: Warren East High School.