(prepared by Taylor Lin)
The Eating Disorders Resource Center is delighted to announce the winners of the 2021 Be-You-tiful, Be Free Writing Contest. We’ve reviewed countless entries exhibiting a variety of talent, eloquence, and depth of emotion unique to each and every individual. We are grateful for the efforts of all our participants, and are inspired by their courage to speak up on stigmatized subjects. The EDRC would like to thank our panel of esteemed judges, who have shown continuous dedication towards making this contest a success. Special thanks go to this year’s sponsor, the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, and our partners Bring Change to Mind and the Santa Clara County Library District.
With a large selection pool of submissions across Canada and 7 US states, it was a challenge coming to a final decision. Without further ado, here are the 2021 Be-You-tiful, Be Free contest winners:
High School
First Place: Ashley Knott (Windsor High School, Grade 11)
Second Place: Lia Fernandez-Grinshpun (Foothill Middle College, Grade 11)
Third Place: Jaimie Nguyen (Evergreen Valley High School, Grade 9)
Honorable Mentions: Merisa Raj (Archbishop Mitty High School, Grade 11), Eva Chima (École Secondaire Catholique Renaissance, Grade 10)
Middle School
First Place: Cindy Lin (Pinewood Upper, Grade 8)
Second Place: Myesha Phukan (Georgina P. Blach Intermediate School, Grade 8)
Third Place: Trisha Mani (Chaboya Middle School, Grade 8)
A virtual awards ceremony was held on June 10th to honor this year’s winners. Each winner shared the inspiration behind their writing, and presented their impactful pieces out loud to the audience. We were also joined by a special guest speaker, Chris Pennington from the Santa Clara County Library District, who spoke more about library services and events.
Congratulations to all of our winners, and to everyone who participated!
