Everett students took first place in both categories at this year’s Teen Perspectives Art & Essay Contest, hosted by The Immigrant Learning Center in Malden.
That part is straightforward. Everett High School student Shashi Pokhrel won first prize in essay, and Everett Alternative High School student Carolina Rivas won first prize in visual art. The contest theme was “How My Community Benefits from Immigration,” and according to the organizers, 80 students from Everett, Malden, and Medford submitted essays and artwork this year.
The awards were handed out April 15 at Malden High School, with cash prizes ranging from $50 to $300. School officials, family members, and local electeds were there, along with Everett Assistant Superintendent Margaret Adams.
Adams said, “In a time where being an immigrant is challenging — and it’s easy to be unseen and unheard by many in our nation, in our communities, and in our country — I want to commend you for your courage.”
That is the usual ceremony language. But the students’ own words were more worth reading.
Pokhrel’s essay, Sacrifices and Contributions of Immigrants, described immigrating from Nepal and trying to fit in without losing her identity. She wrote, “Immigration is not just a policy. It is my childhood, my school, my family, and my identity. It brought struggle, but it also brought strength, culture, language, and connection.”
That line lands because it is specific. Not a slogan. Not a yard sign. A student explaining what the thing actually meant in her life.
She also said, “My story is one of many that shows that immigration does not harm communities, it builds them.”
Rivas, who came to the United States from El Salvador eight years ago, won for her piece Celebrating Columbus Day at the Church. Speaking at the ceremony, she said, “Everett is a diverse community with many different cultures… my community is the inspiration from my art.”
If you want a plain fact about Everett, there it is. The city is full of families from somewhere else, trying to make a life here while dealing with the same bills, school schedules, and work headaches as everyone else.
The contest itself was backed by a grant from the Malden Cultural Council and sponsorship from Eastern Bank. Judges included educators, artists, a reporter, and nonprofit board members. As with most contests of this type, there was no shortage of institutional support and official statements.
Still, the strongest part of the event was not the grant language or the congratulatory remarks. It was that Everett students showed up and won by talking plainly about their own lives.
That matters more than the ceremony script.
The full set of submissions, including Pokhrel’s essay and past winners, is available through The Immigrant Learning Center’s Teen Perspectives program online.