For 26 years, the City of Claremont has been holding
a scholastic essay competition, called “Making
Change,” to honor Martin Luther King Jr. and other
victorious leaders who made change in society and implemented
social justice. Students in CUSD or children
who are residents of Claremont are able to participate
in the essay contest for cash prizes. The competition is
open to students in kindergarten through twelfth grade.
Contestants are allowed to submit essays and sometimes
art work, depending on the grade level. This year, three
students who attend CHS, freshman Ronit Kathuria,
junior Annie Poy, and senior Gillian Antona won the
Making Change contest for their age groups.

Unlike the other contestants, Kathuria wanted to write an essay about current social injustices instead of focusing on events of the past. He decided to write on the topic of police brutality and the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement that was established in 2013 after the murder of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed Florida teen who was shot by neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman. Kathuria was the winner of the ninth through tenth grade division.

“The government takes [police brutality] as an illegitimate issue,” Kathuria said. “It is something that has physically and emotionally harmed others, but isn’t being paid attention to.”

Poy is another student at CHS and decided to enter the contest to gain extra credit in her IB English class. In her winning audio essay, she discussed the way that social change can be achieved. She claims that social change requires a leader, a follower, and a cause. She used examples from past events and people like Martin Luther King, the civil rights movement, and the women’s suffrage movement to support her statement. She was inspired by the way that people see the world today and the idea that the past can be beneficial to the progression of social changes in America.

“Winning was the extra cherry on the top,” Poy said. “I got extra credit and then I happened to win the whole thing.”

Antona was also required to participate in the contest as a part of her English class. She chose to write her essay about what it takes to make social changes. She found a way to intertwine past ways that social changes were brought about, like with Martin Luther King Jr. and social issues of today, using the new Broadway hit “Hamilton” as a main source. “Hamilton” tells the story of America’s founding fathers but has them all played by people of color. Antona had a little bit of difficulty choosing the focal point of her winning essay, and she decided to write about “Hamilton” on a whim.

“I wanted to write about this issue because there is a lot of white dominance in show business. Just look at the all of the Oscar nominees. They’re all white,” Antona said. “I wanted to show that the [acting] talents of black people are still credible even though we rarely see them awarded for this kind of skill.”

The annual “Making Change” essay competition is a good opportunity for youth to have their opinions on pressing social issues heard by the Claremont community. Congratulations to Gillian Antona, Annie Poy and Ronit Kathuria for their winning essays.