PARAMUS, N.J. – Six Bergen County high school students claimed first-place honors in categories such as poetry and drama in the 38th annual Bergen County High School Writing Contest sponsored by the Bergen Community College English department. The contest, directed by Bergen professor Peter Helff, featured six categories of submissions – scholarly essay, poetry, personal essay, recent American, short story and drama – judged by Bergen faculty. The work of 27 finalists became part of the “Pegasus” literary journal published each year by the College. The first place winners were, from top left:
· Nina Das, of Tenafly, Tenafly High School: “Gatsby’s Kaleidoscope” (Drama);
· Isabella Grabski, of Glen Rock, Bergen County Academies: “The Art of Flotation” (Personal Essay);
· Diana Zhou, of Tenafly, Tenafly High School: “Happy New Year, Kung Hei Fat Choy: Confessions I Never Told My Mother” (Recent American);
· Joelle Castaldo, of Tenafly, Tenafly High School: “Crash” (Short Story);
· George Georges, of Clifton, Dwight-Englewood School: “Rupert’s Love’s Labor’s Never Succeeded” (Scholarly Essay);
· David Lysenko, of Fair Lawn, Dwight-Englewood School: “Fire and Ice” (Poetry).
For their efforts, students received copies of the publication and bookstore gift cards.
Bergen Community College (www.bergen.edu) based in Paramus is a public two-year coeducational college, enrolling nearly 17,000 students at locations in Paramus, the Philip J. Ciarco Jr. Learning Center in Hackensack and Bergen Community College at the Meadowlands in Lyndhurst. The College offers associate degree, certificate and continuing education programs in a variety of fields.
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