Nashville, Tenn. – Senator Mark Pody, Representative Clark Boyd and Secretary of State Tre Hargett presented Home Life Academy of Wilson County student Naomi Todd with an award for her second-place finish in the 9-12th grade category in the statewide 2022 Civics Essay Contest. 

“Congratulations Naomi, on a second-place finish in the 9-12th grade category in our Civics Essay Contest,” said Secretary Hargett. “We created this annual contest to help students become more civically educated and ready to participate in our electoral process when they become adults. I applaud Naomi for recognizing the importance of becoming an informed voter.”

For her second-place finish, Todd received a $250 TNStars 529 College Savings Program scholarship and a visit to the State Capitol.

“Congratulations to Naomi Todd for winning 2nd place in the Civics Essay Contest for her thoughtful and well-written essay on the importance of voting,” said Sen. Pody. “I appreciate the Secretary of State for holding this contest to educate and engage our young Tennesseans in the civics process so they can be informed and active citizens as adults.”

“It’s always encouraging to see young Tennesseans recognize the importance of being an engaged and informed voter,” said Rep. Boyd. “I congratulate Naomi on receiving this well-deserved award, and hope others in our community will be inspired by her accomplishment.”

The 2022 Civics Essay Contest was open to all Tennessee students in public, charter, private school or home school associations in grades PreK to 12. Schools chose up to two essays from each grade level to submit for the contest.

The Secretary of State’s office launched the Civics Essay Contest in 2016. The 2022 theme was “Why Your Vote Matters.” Previous essay themes included voting, citizenship, leadership and civic duty.

The Secretary of State’s Civics Essay Contest, Anne Dallas Dudley Award, College Voter Registration Competition and Student Mock Election are part of their longstanding civics engagement efforts to prepare students to be actively engaged citizens. The Secretary of State’s office also offers lesson plans to help teachers to incorporate civic engagement and citizenship into their curriculum. The free lesson plans were created by Tennessee teachers and are based on the Tennessee Blue Book.

For more information about the Civics Essay Contest and the Secretary of State’s other civic engagement education efforts, visit sos.tn.gov/civics.