First Place
Secondary (Grades 9-12)

     Martin Luther King, Jr., was an incredible human being. Through his service and leadership he took the oppressed African-Americans out of the darkness and into a new-found light. He was their true beacon of light. If only the world had more people like him.

     A humid, summer morning is just beginning as Doreen Thomas' doorbell rings. Her short brown hair tussles as she rushes through her spotless house and opens the large, red front door. She is a typical looking midwestern woman wearing an inviting smile and her favorite polo and jeans. A little girl greets her with a huge hug and a wide grin and is received by Doreen's caring, dark brown eyes. The child's mother graciously thanks Doreen and drives off for a few hours of uninterrupted grocery shopping. The girl runs to the large toy closet, which has been abandoned by Doreen's college-age sons, and grabs her favorite threadbare, teddy bear and chooses from an enormous selection of picture books. The eager child and the delighted woman settle down on a comfortable couch and begin to read out loud together.

     The child has no blood relation to Doreen. She isn't a neighbor's child either. She is a daughter of a young woman Doreen mentored five years earlier. Doreen mentors single, pregnant girls in her ethnically diverse community. She helps them complete their high school education at a time in their lives when many people abandon them. She also helps these newly enriched young mothers get permanent, well-paying jobs. Her lifelong commitment of helping others started as head volunteer for the Junior League Thrift Store. She also counseled young, anxious couples who were preparing for marriage at her church. Doreen was committed to her sons' schools, and as the head of the school-wide booster club, she could be found in a large, blue sweatshirt with "Loy Norix" in large, gold letters across the front, selling hot dogs every Friday night at the high school football games. Her phone and doorbell ring from seven in the morning, as the aroma of the fresh coffee fills her sunny kitchen, until late in the evening with requests from community leaders and friends alike for greatly needed help with one project or another. She was urged to become the Director of Education Foundation for her aging city's school district. Doreen not only supports teenagers, she also heads up an innovative new program for mentoring new teachers.

     She spends her free time collecting warm clothes and gently used books for the impoverished families. She spends her holidays with her family gathered around at the community's soup kitchen giving a strong helping hand. Every person she mentors is brought out of the darkness and into the light, along with her entire community. She is a person, commingled in a world of people absorbed in their own needs and desires, who keeps the spirit of Martin Luther King, jr., alive. My aunt, Doreen Thomas, is a true beacon of light. If only the world had more people like her.