An audio essay by Emmet Juergens, a sophomore at Kuemper Catholic High School in Carroll has advanced to the finals in the national competition for the Veterans of Foreign Wars' Voice of Democracy Contest.
He wrote and recorded the essay as an advanced English class assignment last fall. This course is taught by Kuemper English teacher Jeff Hughes.
Juergens essay and that of his classmates was submitted at the local level - Carroll VFW Ralph G. Neppel Post 2642. He shared first place with a fellow Kuemper student and their essays advanced to District 6 competition. Juergens won that one as well and his essay went on to the state competition.
The Kuemper student won the state contest and was asked to present the essay at the Department of Iowa VFW’s Mid-Winter Conference and Awards Banquet Jan. 17 and 18
Emmet Juergens with his first-place certificate from the Iowa VFW and VFW Auxilliary.
in Des Moines. His family and English teacher attended the banquet. Juergens is the son of Peter and Shelli Juergens of Carroll.
For the state competition, he won $2,500. Juergens will be traveling to Washington, D.C. in March for an all-expense-paid trip.
According to the VFW Voice of Democracy website, this year's contest theme is "Is America Today Our Forefathers' Vision?" The winner of the national competition takes away a $35,000 grand prize award.
Cutline for photo above: Kuemper Catholic High School English Language Arts Teacher, Jeff Hughes, KCHS sophomore Emmett Juergens, and VFW District 6 Auxiliary President Ronda Bochmann. He won $100 for the district first place.