Swallow Cliff Chapter NSDAR Youth Award Program

On Saturday, February 15, Swallow Cliff Chapter NSDAR held its Youth Award program to honor the DAR American History Essay winners and the Good Citizen Award winners. 

American History Committee chairman Maxine Piha presented medals, monetary awards, and certificates to two Century Junior High School students: 6th grader Elise Blinn and 7th grader Victoria Marshall. Elise has also been named the DAR District IV winner for her essay and will appear at the March 7 DAR District IV meeting to read her essay. This year students were asked to pretend that they lived during the Revolutionary War and, using historical facts, discuss how the war was affecting their lives.

Five local high schools nominated candidates for the DAR Good Citizen Award. To be eligible for this award, students had to demonstrate the qualities of dependability, service to their schools and communities, leadership, and patriotism. Once selected, nominees had to submit letters of recommendation, transcripts of their grades, and 2 essays - one personal and one timed about a given topic. Good Citizen Award chairman Miriam Giebel presented pins, monetary awards, and certificates to this year’s winners: Michele Awad from Lemont High School, Elise Bowler from Andrew High School,Ciara Collins from Hillcrest High School, Sergio Dominguez from St. Laurence High School, and Nicole Travis from Oak Forest High School. Michele has also been named the DAR District IV winner and has also been invited to attend the Illinois DAR State Conference in April.

One of DAR’s main objectives is to promote education. Swallow Cliff was proud to take this opportunity to recognize some of the outstanding youth in our communities.