Hannah Shuffer of Orange High School becomes 10th Grand Prize Winner
10 Years, 30k Students, $1 Million
(CLEVELAND, OH) At a milestone 10-year event in Northeast Ohio, ten high school juniors and seniors competed for the title of grand prize winner at the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage’s 10th Annual Stop the Hate® Youth Speak Out essay writing contest. The contest, focused on students speaking out in support of diversity and inclusion, has engaged an estimated 30,000 student participants across 12 Northeast Ohio counties and awarded $1 million to students and schools in scholarships and anti-bias education grants over the last ten years.
The top ten essays, selected from thousands of entries, were read for an audience of 600+ at The Cleveland Museum of Art as junior and senior high school students vied for a chance to win the grand prize of a $40,000 scholarship. Hannah Shuffer of Orange High School was named grand prize winner. In her essay, she wrote of her brother Nathan who has cerebral palsy, saying:
It is inexpressibly hard to watch people treat my brother like he has no feelings, like he is lesser than, like he is not human.
I soon began to realize that like most forms of discrimination, people’s preconceived notions had blinded them from truth.
Hannah’s full essay reading may be seen HERE on the Maltz Museum’s YouTube channel; essay readings of the other remarkable top ten finalists may be seen HERE.
YOUTH SPEAK OUT GRAND SCHOLARSHIP WINNER
(4-year $40,000 scholarship)
Hannah Shuffer, Orange High School
YOUTH SPEAK OUT FIRST RUNNER-UP
($15,000 scholarship)
Dahlia Moskowitz, Fuchs Mizrachi School
YOUTH SPEAK OUT SECOND RUNNER-UP
($10,000 scholarship)
Maria Zou, Hudson High School
YOUTH SPEAK OUT THIRD RUNNER-UP
($5,000 scholarship)
Megan Lebowitz, Solon High School
YOUTH SPEAK OUT HONORABLE MENTIONS
($500 cash prize)
Tadj Adams, Hawken School
John Kunzo, Gilmour Academy
Peyton Lunder, Padua Franciscan High School
Julia Mayer, Solon High School
Hailey Nudelman, Twinsburg High School
Schuyler Radivoyevitech, Cleveland Heights High School
2018 YOUTH SPEAK OUT ESSAY STUDENT FINALISTS
10th Grade
1st Place: Sabriya Zaman, Solon High School
2nd Place: Emi Cummings, Laurel High School
3rd Place: Anaya Hunter, Whitney Young High School
9th Grade
1st Place: Rileyanna Karic, Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School
2nd Place: Jonah Gilbert, University School
3rd Place: Cara Finnegan, Elyria Catholic High School
8th Grade
1st Place: Elana Rouse, Rocky River Middle School
2nd Place: Alexandra Holtz, Chagrin Falls Middle School
3rd Place: Bowen Zhang, Beachwood Middle School
7th Grade
1st Place: Maggie Chen, Memorial Middle School
2nd Place: Rebecca Lawton, Beachwood Middle School
3rd Place: Jennifer Williams, Old Trail Elementary
6th Grade
1st Place: Scott O’Neill, Newton D. Baker School of Arts
2nd Place: Isabella Kovacs, Rocky River Middle School
3rd Place: Flannery Costello, Rocky River Middle School
YOUTH SPEAK OUT SCHOOL WITH THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF ESSAYS
($5,000 Anti-Bias Education Grant)
Newton D. Baker School of Arts
YOUTH SPEAK OUT SCHOOL WITH A GRAND PRIZE WINNER
($5,000 Anti-Bias Education Grant)
Orange High School
2018 YOUTH SING OUT WINNING SCHOOLS
1st Place High School: “Words on the Wall” Cleveland Heights High School
($5,000 Anti-Bias Education Grant)
Tie 1st Place Middle School: “Keep History Alive,” “Why Hate” Newton D. Baker School of Arts
($5,000 Anti-Bias Education Grant)
Runner-Up High School: “Too Much Going On” Shaw High School
($2,500 Anti-Bias Education Grant)
Runner-Up Middle School: “Between Me & The Media” Harding Middle School
($2,500 Anti-Bias Education Grant)
This year’s judges for the 10th anniversary ceremony include: Toni Baker, MSM, PNC; Tai-Chi Chan, Lubrizol; Jessica Cohen, Jewish Federation of Cleveland; James Gutierrez, MD, FACP, Cleveland Clinic; Eduardo Kim, Thompson Hine; George Koussa, Margaret Wong & Associates; Monyka Price, City of Cleveland; Cecilia Render, Nordson Corporation Foundation; Phyllis Harris, LGBT Center of Greater Cleveland; Cynthia Norwood, The ARC Greater Cleveland.
Congratulations to all of the participants, finalists, and winners. Also, to the schools, teachers, readers, judges, and guests who helped make the 10th year of Stop the Hate® one of the best yet.
###
Support for Stop the Hate® Youth Speak Out generously provided by Dealer Tire, Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation, and the Nordson Corporation Foundation.
Support for Stop the Hate® Youth Sing Out generously provided by The Abington Foundation, The Bruening Foundation, The Char & Chuck Fowler Family Foundation, and the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation.
