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Valley High sophomore competing in statewide Veterans of Foreign Wars spoken essay contest

Valley News-Dispatch - 1/17/2022

Jan. 16—A sophomore from Valley High School in New Kensington is representing Westmoreland County in a statewide audio essay contest sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

If 15-year-old K'Ahna Witcher is the winner of the state "Voice of Democracy" contest, she'll go on to the national program and a chance at a $30,000 scholarship.

Witcher won first at the local level, VFW Post 92 in Lower Burrell, and then at the county level, VFW District 27.

Witcher and her mother, Lacey Witcher, of New Kensington will find out if K'Ahna is the state winner during the state VFW's mid-winter conference on Friday in Lancaster. The national winner is expected to be announced in early April.

"I'm really proud of her just for trying at all," Lacey Witcher said. "It's really great and exciting that she made it this far. I didn't even know it was possible."

The VFW started its "Voice of Democracy" program in 1947. Nearly 64,500 high school students from across the country enter each year to win a share of more than $2 million in scholarships and incentives. In addition to the $30,000 first-place award, other national scholarships range from $1,000 to $16,000, with the first-place winner from each state getting a minimum $1,000 scholarship.

An audio program, students express themselves on a democratic and patriotic-themed recorded essay. This year, the theme is "America: Where do we go from here?"

The theme was chosen last April, when "there was a lot going on in our country," said Robert Couture, director of programs for the national VFW.

"We thought, let's challenge our nation's youth to say, hey, let's challenge our country to be better," he said.

K'Ahna used a metaphor of fire in answering the question, said Ryann Barr, her honors English teacher at Valley High School.

"She is one of the better writers that I have in my class. She has a distinct voice in all of her writing," Barr said. "I think that she really hits the political and social issues that affect students.

"She has a very poignant voice, and it's beautifully and eloquently written of the changes this younger generation are looking for."

In approaching the question, K'Ahna said she wanted to bring up the divide between Americans.

"I basically said that we had to work together to fix these divides," she said. "We aren't going to get anywhere without working past that."

Lacey Witcher found her daughter's words thoughtful.

"I like how she put it in a way that didn't ostracize either side. She wrote it to bring people together," Witcher said. "She answered it with a maturity beyond her years, a maturity that some adults don't even show at this point. She was able to look deeper than what she might think or her own political views and just try to find a solution for all."

VFW District 27 includes 19 posts in Westmoreland County. K'Ahna's essay was chosen from three entries at Lower Burrell Post 92, and then from 11 entries at the district level to move on to state, according to district Commander Carl Trusiak Jr.

"We're hoping and praying she does well up there," said Trusiak, of Bell Township. "We're pulling for her."

Although she's only in 10th grade, K'Ahna said she would like to go to law school and become a civil rights attorney. Winning the national scholarship would certainly help toward that goal.

"It would be a big weight lifted off our shoulders," her mom said.

Brian C. Rittmeyer is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Brian at 724-226-4701, brittmeyer@triblive.com or via Twitter .

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(c)2022 The Valley News-Dispatch (Tarentum, Pa.)

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