The pens of three Rockdale County Public Schools seniors paid off in the "Conyers, Celebration of Community" essay contest as the city of Conyers, in partnership with RCPS, declared Andre Lopez, Terron McRae, and Desire’e Williams as victors. According to a city announcement, Lopez, a senior from Rockdale Career Academy, snagged the top spot with a $500 prize, while McRae and Williams followed with $350 and $150 for second and third place respectively.
Lauded at a Conyers City Council meeting on February 21, the trio received congratulations from essay judges Mayor Vince Evans and Council Member Valyncia Smith, the young writers stood proud as they were endowed with more than just cash—they were acknowledged as the esteemed voices of their generation, with Andre Lopez and Desire’e Williams sharing the limelight together, and Terron McRae captured in a separate frame, Marty Evans and Valyncia Smith praised the works, heralding this engagement a pivotal connection between the government and its burgeoning youth.
Introduced in the fall of 2023, the contest rallied seniors from the city's high schools including Rockdale County High School, Rockdale Magnet School for Science and Technology, and Rockdale Career Academy in hopes to inspire creative expression and enhance involvement in communal affairs, an initiative Council Member Smith views as one of the city’s progressive strides to forge lasting rapport with its young populace.
Emphasizing the competition's significance, Council Member Smith said, “This essay contest is one of several efforts the city is making to reach and connect with our younger citizens, we’re hopeful the creative writing prompt and prize money will garner even more entries next year,” while discussing the wider objective in bringing forth the voices of the youth into the corridors of governance and conversation.
