- The essay was for a contest for America250, the official nonpartisan entity charged by Congress with planning the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
What started as an optional class assignment to raise a grade turned into a trip of a lifetime for two Corinth High School seniors.
When Susan Bailey gave the assignment to write an essay about what America means to them, students Andrew Carpenter and Jerry Pham had no idea their work would result in a free trip.
Andrew said that the assignment was a “gimme” grade to help boost the overall grade for the year in his English Composition class.
“I had no expectation of winning,” he says. “I spent an hour or two on the paper and turned it in.”
The Extra Credit Wins America’s Field Trip
The essay was for a contest for America250, the official nonpartisan entity charged by Congress with planning the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. A series of unique experiences were planned for the winners of the first ever “America’s Field Trip” contest, a nationwide scholastic contest encouraging students to reflect on what America means to them, with first place awardees taking part in special experiences at iconic American historical and cultural sites.
Andrew put his school address on the form that accompanied the essay, but his email address was deleted the day he graduated.
“We had to put our parents’ names and contact information on the form as well,” Andrew says. “In June my dad woke me up and told me about an email he received saying I had won the contest.”
He was given a choice of a few different places, including Washington D.C.
“I had been there before, so I chose the trip to Rocky Mountain National Park near Estes Park, Colorado.”
Andrew took the trip with his father, Chuck Carpenter.
“We like camping, so we flew into Denver and met up at the Glacier Basin campground with the other two winners who chose Colorado and their families. We took a bus tour, and park rangers taught us about birds of prey, which was pretty interesting. We also went horseback riding.”
Story of Struggle Leads to Lifetime Trip
Jerry Pham wrote his essay about the challenges he had growing up as an Asian-American in Corinth.
“My teacher submitted the essays for us. I just did it because I wanted the grade,” he admits.
Representatives from America250 contacted Jerry’s mother, who called him with the news that he had won while he was on a senior trip.
“I was surprised, to say the least,” he says.
Jerry chose to go to D.C. He was accompanied on the trip by his mother.
“We went to the National Museum of American History,” he says. “We stayed at the Capital Hilton, which was walking distance from the White House.”
Unfortunately, they were unable to tour the White House, because they went the day after the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
“They put the White House on lockdown.”
They did get to visit many of the memorials along the Mall.
“It was a great trip.”
Andrew is attending Mississippi State this fall, where he will major in secondary education with a concentration in English and science. Jerry will also attend Mississippi State and plans to major in kinesiology with hopes of becoming a chiropractor.
