Isabella Vargas, an eighth grader at Merrick Avenue Middle School, has been selected as a runner-up in this year's Scholastic Action True Teen Story contest.
The October 2023 contest called for students to share a short essay about a struggle they’ve faced, a passion they have or something that makes them special.
A student in Brett Schwartz’s reading lab, Vargas said the teacher was integral in submitting her piece about her “mental health journey.”
“He encouraged me to write about it and helped me edit the story,” she mentioned.
Kim Serpe, an English chairperson, said “it’s amazing that Vargas has taken a situation, which is probably very challenging to her and put it in writing for her own catharsis as well as to help other teenagers.”
She added that Schwartz often “provides students with writing opportunities that enable self-reflection to create a non-fiction piece about themselves.”
Vargas will receive a cash prize.