In 2004, a law was established in connection with the signing of the United States Constitution on September 17, that Constitution Day should be observed in schools each year, providing educational programming on the history of the American Constitution on that day. To help celebrate Constitution Day this year, Lone Star College-Montgomery sponsored a Constitution Day essay contest on the topic of which constitutional amendment has the greatest relevance to today’s society.

“This was a great way to bring the Constitution alive, as well as focus on getting students to refine their writing skills,” said Fiona Ross, associate professor of political science at LSC-Montgomery.

This written exercise had a 500-1000 word limit, and must establish concrete relevancy and importance of the constitution to today’s society.

The contest, open to any LSC-Montgomery student, offered first-, second- and third-place prizes of $100, $50, and $25 Amazon gift cards, as well as the encouragement of the winners to submit their exercise to the Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) journal.

Ross, who was also the facilitator and judge of the essay contest, said it resulted in 19 very good entries.

“The students who entered were serious, so it made our job as judges far more difficult,” Ross said. “They were the best of the best. They did a fantastic job and it was hard to judge.”

Alexandra Vermooten, a journalism student in her second semester at LSC-Montgomery, came in first place with her essay on the fourth amendment.  Miesha Thrower, an interior design major in her first semester, came in second place with her essay on the first amendment. Third place winner, Ricardo Useche, is a first semester engineering student originally from Venezuela and his essay covered the 16th amendment.

Thrower found writing this essay to be interesting; it made her think about the topic that so many people seem to forget about or take for granted.  She is grateful and thanks the judges, and her Write Place tutor, who saw the potential in her writing.

The Write Place is the writing center at LSC-Montgomery and LSC-Conroe Center, with writing consultants available for one-on-one consultations to help students with any writing project at any stage of the writing process. Contestants were encouraged to utilize The Write Place, and as many resources as possible, to improve their writing skills.

Ross said this essay contest wasn’t just about the Constitution; it was also to get students writing more and refining their writing skills.  It is also a very important part of resume building, having the opportunity to develop a more professional resume by adding more academic accomplishments.

“And, it’s about recognition,” Ross added. “If you invest in your work, extracurricular activities, and writing, there will be a reward,” Ross said.

Lone Star College-Montgomery students Alexandra Vermooten, Miesha Thrower and Ricardo Useche were winners of the college's Constitution Day Essay contest, held in celebration of Constitution Day.

LSC-Montgomery is located at 3200 College Park Drive, one-half mile west of Interstate 45, between Conroe and The Woodlands. For more information about the college, call (936) 273-7000, or visit www.LoneStar.edu/montgomery.

Lone Star College System has been opening doors to a better community for more than 40 years. Founded in 1973, LSCS remains steadfast in its commitment to student success and credential completion.  Today, with 78,000 students in credit classes, and a total enrollment of more than 90,000, Lone Star College System is the largest institution of higher education in the Houston area and one of the fastest-growing community college systems in the nation.  Dr. Steve Head is the chancellor of LSCS, which consists of six colleges including LSC-CyFair, LSC-Kingwood, LSC-Montgomery, LSC-North Harris, LSC-Tomball and LSC-University Park, seven centers, LSC-University Center at Montgomery, LSC-University Center at University Park, Lone Star Corporate College, and LSC-Online. To learn more visit LoneStar.edu.