Senator Witkos Recognizes St. Peter/St. Francis School Students at Torrington Essay Contest Ceremony [Register Citizen]

Article as it appeared in the Register Citizen on May 3, 2013

St. Peter/St. Francis students write about their favorite presidents
By Jason Siedzik

State Sens. Kevin Witkos, left, and Clark Chapin praised the winners and runners-up for their writing. (Credit: Jason Siedzik/ Register Citizen)

Contest runners-up Abby Corso and McKenzie Gauthier, as well as winners Samuel Mazzarelli and Bohden Arndt, received savings accounts at Torrington Savings Bank for their placement in the annual essay contest. (Credit: Jason Siedzik/ Register Citizen)

TORRINGTON — Four sixth-grade students surprised their state senators by reaching back into the annals of history for their favorite presidents.

Sponsored in conjunction with Torrington Savings Bank, the essay contest asked sixth-grade students to pick, and explain, their favorite presidents. But despite the expectation of state Sen. Kevin Witkos, none of the honorees chose presidents who held the office while they were alive. The most recent selected was President Ronald Reagan.

“They put a lot of thought into it,” said Witkos. “I think it’s a good thing, because history repeats itself.”

Abby Corso, who was one of the runners-up, chose Reagan in part because of his work ending the 1981 Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization’s strike and his policies which helped to bring about the end of the Soviet Union. Corso said that she did not know much about Reagan before embarking on her speech, but researched the former president heavily.

“He seemed pretty interesting,” said Corso, “and I liked what he did for the country.”

Samuel Mazzarelli, who was one of the two winners, and runner-up McKenzie Gauthier both chose President Abraham Lincoln as their favorite for different reasons. Both Mazzarelli and Gauthier admired Lincoln because of the Emancipation Proclamation. However, Mazzarelli said that he chose Lincoln because “he was such a strong leader” that helped to heal the United States during and after the Civil War, while Gauthier added that she chose Lincoln in part because of his hard work to teach himself how to read and his leadership of the Republican Party. Bohden Arndt, the other winner, selected President John F. Kennedy, due to their mutual Catholic beliefs, his creation of the Peace Corps and his support for NASA.

“I really admire this because peace is better than fighting,” said Arndt.

According to Witkos, his office reached out to Torrington Savings Bank to find a sponsor. The winners received $100 savings accounts at Torrington Savings Bank, while the runners-up received $50 in their own accounts. Wendy Healey, the vice president for retail marketing and banking for Torrington Savings Bank, said that the partnership was logical, while Witkos noted that “we couldn’t do this without Torrington Savings Bank.”

“Hopefully,” Healey said, “one day, some of these kids will come and work at the bank.”

Witkos and fellow state Sen. Clark Chapin were on hand to welcome the winners and runners-up, although state Rep. Jay Case was unavailable. Case was voting in the Connecticut General Assembly against HB 6437, which would create a program to recycle mattresses in a sustainable way.

“It’s amazing,” said Witkos. “I thought we would have had the current president or someone more recent, because they were around in their lifetime, but they chose someone with more of an impact.”

The essay contest continued an ongoing trend, helping to involve Torrington’s students in governance. Witkos said that the students taking part in the contest were themselves part of history, but Corso said that being named a runner-up had special significance for her.

“I used to have a hard time reading and writing, so this is a pretty big deal for me,” said Corso.