SACRAMENTO REGION, CA (MPG) - Two of four local essay winners in the annual Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) American History middle and high school-age student essay contest were each given a $200 prize as they advanced from local district to statewide competition.

Each winner read their essay to DAR District II representatives where they were judged on content and their verbal presentation skills, said Kimm Richwine, DAR state District II American History Essay Chair. “These are some exceptional students, and we are very proud to recognize their achievements,” she said.

Their prizes along with celebratory ice cream sundaes were presented and enjoyed at Leatherby’s Ice Cream parlor in Citrus Heights on Sunday, Feb. 19^th.

The annual DAR student essay contest was restructured last year splitting middle school students in grades 5-8 and high school in grades 9-12 into two differently themed contests, Richwine said.

The high school DAR essay contest invites students in grades 9-12 to submit an essay between 800 and 1,200 words, selecting a figure from the era of the American Revolution and discussing how he or she influenced the course of the American Revolution and what their contribution was to the founding of a new nation.

Shanya Sobhi, an 11th grade student at Cordova High School, chose Alexander Hamilton for her essay, which was entitled, “Hamilton’s Legacy.”

On January 17^th, Sobhi, learned she had won the 2022 Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) General John A. Sutter Citrus Heights Chapter annual “Patriots of the American Revolution” scholastic essay contest, qualifying her to compete in district competition.

She was recognized by Sue Frost, who served as chair of the American History Committee for the General John A. Sutter Chapter of the DAR, and member of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors at its January 17th monthly chapter meeting in Citrus Heights.

Members of her family, including her father Hassan, brother Bahand, sister Sata and mom, LeeLav were there as Shanya read her winning essay in district competition.

Essay contestants in grades 5-8 were asked to imagine themselves as a delegate from one of the 13 original colonies to the 1775-1776 Second Continental Congress.

The Second Continental Congress met inside Independence Hall beginning in May 1775, just a month after shots had been fired at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts, as the Congress was preparing for war.

Pratheer Guru Prasama, grade 5, a student at Gold Ridge Elementary School in Folsom, and sponsored by the Charlotte Parkhurst DAR chapter, also in Folsom, selected Rhode Island which sent eight delegates to the Second Continental Congress.

His essay, themed “small but mighty” recognized Rhode Island as one of the first and most enthusiastic colonies to resist British rule, having been the first to call for a continental congress in 1774 and the first, in 1776, to eliminate an oath of allegiance to the British crown that had been required of colonial officials.

Prasama was surprised to learn that the reporter who was then interviewing him about his winning essay was a journalism graduate of the University of Rhode Island and a former state resident.

“I learned quite a lot about the history of Rhode Island and hope to visit there with my family one day,” he said between bites of his ice cream sundae.

Additional winners, Madeline Yrigollen who attends Glen Edwards Middle School in Lincoln and Hayden Chua who attends Marina Middle School in El Dorado Hills were unable to be present to receive their DAR District II essay awards.