The Hershey Rotary Club has announced the winners of its recent contests, which were open to students at Middletown Area High School, Hershey High School, and Milton Hershey School.

The 2021 Four-Way Essay Contest, was open to students in ninth grade. Students were asked to prepare an essay of up to 1,500 words on the topic of "Truth." They were asked to address questions such as "What is truth?" and "Where is truth found?" and "Is truth even important?" and "Is truth absolute or relative to a person's experiences in life?"

The students were also asked to write about how they determine whether something is true and the factors they consider in reaching the answer to the question "Is it the truth?" Additionally, they were asked to write about the other three prongs of the Rotary Four-Way Test. The students considered questions such as "Is truth fair to all concerned?" and "Will the truth build goodwill and better friendships?" and "Will the truth be beneficial to all concerned?" and "Might the real truth help people arrive at whether something is not the truth?"

Entries, submitted electronically, were due by Feb. 16 and required validation from teachers, parents or guardians that the work was original. The essays were then evaluated by a panel of designated judges.

The top three finishers were Kamrie Alder, first place, from the Milton Hershey School; Priyanka Nambier, second place, from Hershey High School; and Joseph Owsley, third place, from Hershey High School. Honorable mentions went to Hershey High School students Jaden Yoder and Edward Ligzka. Monetary awards were given to all five of these honorees.

Kamrie will now advance to the local Rotary District 7390 contest and will compete against students from across the district for additional recognition and monetary awards. The final winner will be announced by the district on Tuesday, April 13.

The Hershey Rotary Club also announced the winners of this year's Four-Way Test Speech Contest, which is open to high school students in grades 10 through 12 in the local area. The prize winners, all from the Milton Hershey School, are Lydia Lausch, first; McKayla Rosario, second; Trevor Jenkins, third; and Elijah Ward, fourth.

Students were asked to prepare a five- to eight-minute speech related to the COVID-19 pandemic and specifically how it has affected them at home, at school, in their community, and in the world. The speech could be based on actual experiences in the student's life; his or her observations of and reactions and responses to the pandemic; school activity during the pandemic; physical distancing and safety measures; or expectations about the new normal.

The contestants were asked to relate their comments to the questions asked in Rotary's Four-Way Test: "Is it the truth?" and "Is it fair to all concerned?" and "Will it build goodwill and bear friendships?" and "Will it be beneficial to all concerned?" Entries were submitted by video and judged by a panel of selected judges. The top four ranked entries were presented in a Zoom call for final ranking.

All four winners were scheduled to move on to competition in the local Rotary District 7390 contest and compete against students from across the district during March. The finals will be held at the Rotary district conference later this spring.