Apache Junction student Casseus Rhodes takes second place, $4,000 in national VFW essay competition
Independent Newsmedia
Posted 3/3/20
Casseus Rhodes, a home-schooled sixth-grade student from Apache Junction, was the second-place national winner and recipient of a $4,000 award in the Veterans of Foreign Wars 2019-20 Patriot's Pen …
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Apache Junction student Casseus Rhodes takes second place, $4,000 in national VFW essay competition
Posted
Independent Newsmedia
Casseus Rhodes, a home-schooled sixth-grade student from Apache Junction, was the second-place national winner and recipient of a $4,000 award in the Veterans of Foreign Wars 2019-20 Patriot's Pen essay contest.
Casseus, who was sponsored by VFW Post No. 7968, wrote his winning essay based on this year’s theme, “What Makes America Great," according to a release.
"Since its inception in 1995, the VFW’s Patriot’s Pen essay competition has helped foster patriotism by encouraging young minds to examine our nation’s history along with their own experiences in modern American society while improving their writing skills," the release states.
Open to eligible sixth, seventh and eighth grade students, the competition requires students to submit a 300- to 400-word essay expressing their views on a selected patriotic theme while competing for their share of more than $900,000 in awards and prizes.
More than 138,000 students participated in this year’s competition. Casseus competed at the national level against 51 other state finalists for individual awards ranging from $500 to $5,000. In all, the VFW awarded more than $55,000 to the top national winners.
