The winners of the CHARACTER COUNTS! essay and poster contest were announced over the weekend.

City officials will present the winners with their awards on Wednesday night at the Casey Community Center.

The poster contest was open to Gaithersburg elementary and middle schools with CHARACTER COUNTS programs. The winners were those that best depicted the six pillars of character: Trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship. More than 950 entries were received. The ten winners were:

• Seyhla Guardado

5th Grade Gaithersburg Elementary School

• Brooke Hamm

5th Grade  Washington Grove Elementary School

• Maria Kutishcheva

3rd Grade Thurgood Marshall Elementary School

• Charity Kyler

5th Grade Gaithersburg Elementary School

• Justice Luko

4th Grade Thurgood Marshall Elementary School

• Katie McGowan

5th Grade Gaithersburg Elementary School

• Miles McLeod

5th Grade  Strawberry Knoll Elementary School

• Nadja Pais

4th Grade  Gaithersburg Elementary School

• Evelyn Sturrock

5th Grade Diamond Elementary School

• Monica Zawadzki

5th Grade  Strawberry Knoll Elementary School

Leena Shin, a 3rd grader at Thurgood Marshall Elementary School, won the Ruth Minette Helz award, which recognized the poster that best represented the pillar of caring.

The "Adult Heroes in Our Community" Essay contest winners were selected from Gaithersburg area elementary and middle school students. Participants were to write about someone who had a significant influence in their life, relating to one of the six pillars of character. Almost 90 entries were received. The five winners were:

• Austin Chau

5th Grade Thurgood Marshall Elementary School View the winning essay (pdf file)

• Harvey Mendoza, Jr.

5th Grade  Gaithersburg Elementary School View the winning essay (pdf file)

• Michael Smith

5th Grade  Washington Grove Elementary School View the winning essay (pdf file)

• Flynn Snyder

5th Grade Thurgood Marshall Elementary School View the winning essay (pdf file)

• Luke Tittle

5th Grade  Thurgood Marshall Elementary School View the winning essay (pdf file)

High school students participated in the "Foundations for Life" essay contest. Students selected a quote and committed to life strategies relating to the quote. Thirty entries were received, and all five winners, below, are from Northwest High School.

• Cameron Brown  

12th Grade View the winning essay (pdf file)

• Ingrid Depaz   

12th Grade View the winning essay (pdf file)

• Brennah Habermann

12th Grade View the winning essay (pdf file)

• Karen Ni  

12th Grade View the winning essay (pdf file)

• Jennifer Yeboah   

12th Grade View the winning essay (pdf file)

Posters will be on display through 10/24 at Lakeforest Mall (701 Russell Ave.), in December and January at the Activity Center at Bohrer Park (506 S. Frederick Ave.), in January and Febrary at the Arts & Crafts Activity Room at Robertson Park Youth Center (801 Rabbitt Rd), in March and April at the Casey Community Center (810 S. Frederick Ave) and in May and June in the Gaithersburg Police Station lobby (14 Fulks Corner Ave).

Check back here on Wednesday night for photos of the awards ceremony.

For more information on Gaithersburg's CHARACTER COUNTS! programs please contact the Community Services Division at 301-258-6395 or communityservices@gaithersburgmd.gov.