Boise Valley Students Tell What Freedom Means

What does freedom mean to me? The seventh- and eighth-graders of Boise Valley Adventist School (BVAS) were recently challenged to answer this thought-provoking question. Several of them entered their “200-words-or-less” essays into the Boise Elks Lodge contest. The contest was open to all local fifth- through eighth-graders. There were 400 entries.

The eighth graders made a clean sweep with first place going to Jaci Peters, second place to Ruth Sevison, and third place to Renee St.Clair. Bethany Lang took second place for the seventh-grade entries.

Their essays will be forwarded on to the district, state, and national levels if they continue to win. The monetary rewards include both savings bonds and checks. A banquet will also be held in May to honor these students who wrote that they believe freedom helps you to cherish what you have, that you shouldn’t take for granted all the little freedoms in a given day, and we should continually give thanks to God for the power of choice. •

Featured in: April 2003