2025 essay contest winners

---

High School First Place:

"A 'Soapbox Perpetrator': The Romanian Orthodox Church in the Holocaust" by Benjamin Rogovin

Lewisburg Area High School, Lewisburg, PA

Middle School First Place:

"The Dutch Church and the Resistance: A faint light in the darkest of times" by Isaac Williams

Donald H. Eichhorn Middle School, Lewisburg, PA

High School Second Place:

"The Significance of the Quakers on the Holocaust" by Audrey Bucher

Selinsgrove Area High School, Selinsgrove, PA

Middle School Second Place:

"Rebellion Blooms in the Hearts of German Youth" by Aurora Snauffer

C. E. McCall Middle School, Montoursville, PA

High School Third Place:

"Remembering a Moral Choice" by Quinn Stanford

Selinsgrove Area High School, Selinsgrove, PA

Middle School Third Place:

"Rescuing Thousands of Jewish Children from the War" by Holly Mowrey

C. E. McCall Middle School, Montoursville, PA

High School Honorable Mentions:

"Corruption of the Children - The Hitler Youth" by Lily Gingery

Montgomery Area School District, Montgomery, PA

"The Hitler Youth" by Karleigh Autumn McKenna

Montoursville Area School District, Montoursville, PA

"The White Rose Opposition Movement: A Catalyst to Resistance" by Kyleigh McDonald

Sullivan County High School, Laporte, PA

"A Blooming Revolution: The White Rose’s Influence on Nazi Germany" by Vanessa Slavishak

Selinsgrove Area High School, Selinsgrove, PA

"Past Mistakes, Current Lessons, Future Improvements" by Celia Wright

Williamsport Area High School, Williamsport, PA

"Resisting In The Netherlands" by Katelyn Miller

Warrior Run Jr./Sr. High School, Turbotville, PA

"The Church of Norway's Indecision Regarding the Persecution of Jews" by Talitha Hill

Home School, Williamsport, PA

"Hitler's Boy Scouts" by Levi Snyder

Towanda High School, Towanda, PA

Middle School Honorable Mentions: 

"The French Resistance" by Trafton Bayer

Bloomsburg Middle School, Bloomsburg, PA

"Looking Away From What You Shouldn’t" by Ben Barkauskas

C. E. McCall Middle School, Montoursville, PA

"The Rebellion and Culture of the Swing Youth Group" by Braden Threet

Mifflinburg Area School District, Mifflinburg, PA

"Young Puppets for Hitler" by Sophia Wheeler

C. E. McCall Middle School, Montoursville, PA

"The Worst Church of All Time" by Wyatt Watts

C. E. McCall Middle School, Montoursville, PA

"The Bielski Brothers" by Wyatt Zechman

Mifflinburg Area School District, Mifflinburg, PA

High School First Place:

"Analyzing the Pyramid of Hate: Highlighting the Importance of the Similarities Between Nazi Germany and Modern Day USA" by Laurel Swisher

Benton Area High School, Benton, PA

Middle School First Place:

"Can Good People Do Bad Things" by Desyrae Neidig

C. E. McCall Middle School, Montoursville, PA

High School Second Place:

"How Bias Paved the Way for Hitler" by Addison Harvey

Montoursville Area School District, Montoursville, PA

Middle School Second Place:

"The Systematic Spreading of Antisemitism Towards Genocide" by Cyrus Heddings

C. E. McCall Middle School, Montoursville, PA

High School Third Place:

"The Wrath of Stacked Blocks" by Ellis Bender

Benton Area High School, Benton, PA

Middle School Third Place:

"Hatred and the Holocaust" by Elliana Jacobs

Montgomery Area School District, Montgomery, PA

High School Honorable Mentions:

"Antisemitism and Imperialism" by Aubrey Barto

Montgomery Area School District, Montgomery, PA

"Hate in the Holocaust: Build-up to Genocide" by Glayne Gozum

Montgomery Area School District, Montgomery, PA

"The Pyramid of Hate: The Never Ending Cycle Without Compassion" by Connor Nathaniel Jarrett

Montgomery Area School District, Montgomery, PA

"Unfounded Hatred and the Birth of the Holocaust" by Amelia Shrimp

Montgomery Area School District, Montgomery, PA

"Remembering the Past" by Noah Hepler

Montoursville Area School District, Montoursville, PA

Middle School Honorable Mentions: 

"The Role of Systemic Discrimination in the Holocaust" by Nadia Farenish

C. E. McCall Middle School, Montoursville, PA

"Antisemitism: The Cancer that Killed Millions" by Wyatt Hamilton

C. E. McCall Middle School, Montoursville, PA

"The Persisting Evil of Antisemitism" by Abel Conahan

C. E. McCall Middle School, Montoursville, PA

"Walk Way to Genocide" by Kaden Kleinman

C. E. McCall Middle School, Montoursville, PA

"The Pyramid of Hate and How it Applies Today" by Emily Miller

Montgomery Area School District, Montgomery, PA

High School First Place:

"The Power of Family in the Face of Death" by Siena Rodgers

Selinsgrove Area High School, Selinsgrove, PA

Middle School First Place:

"The Nazi's Tyranny: Effects of Discrimination and Oppression" by Rowan Fortin

C. E. McCall Middle School, Montoursville, PA

High School Second Place:

"Days of Remembrance" by Rigby Murray

Shikellamy High School, Sunbury, PA

Middle School Second Place:

"Escaping the Horrors of the Holocaust" by Becca Teffeteller

C. E. McCall Middle School, Montoursville, PA

High School Third Place:

"Holocaust Connections" by Lex Welliver

Shikellamy High School, Sunbury, PA

Middle School Third Place:

"Genocide and Anti-Semitism during World War II and the Present" by Elias Rodriguez

C. E. McCall Middle School, Montoursville, PA

High School Honorable Mentions:

"The Price of Hatred" by Emily Dieffenderfer

Montgomery Area Junior and Senior High School, Montgomery, PA

"Days of Remembrance Essay" by Grace Dunkelberger

Shikellamy High School, Sunbury, PA   

"Survivors’ Actions Through Antisemitism" by Lincoln Flick

Montgomery Area Junior and Senior High School, Montgomery, PA

"More Than Survival" by Holly Hollenbach

Warrior Run High School, Turbotville, PA

"Stay Loyal Through Hardships" by Cassidy Jacobs

Montgomery Area Junior and Senior High School, Montgomery, PA

Middle School Honorable Mentions: 

"Unchecked Hatred and Antisemitism: The Tale of Two Survivors" by Austin Davidson

C. E. McCall Middle School, Montoursville, PA

"Antisemitism and the Horrors of the Holocaust" by Haden Ferguson

C. E. McCall Middle School, Montoursville, PA

"People Who Sacrificed A Lot to Survive the Holocaust" by Oleksandr Martyniuk

C. E. McCall Middle School, Montoursville, PA

"The Terrors, Trepidation, and Enduring Pain of the Holocaust" by Dillan Saul

C. E. McCall Middle School, Montoursville, PA

"A Theme of Family Loyalty and Love" by Amelia Shrimp

Montgomery Area Junior and Senior High School, Montgomery, PA

High School First Place:

"Dangers of Propaganda" by Cortney Keim

Line Mountain High School, Herndon, PA

Middle School First Place:

"Morality and the Consequences of Its Suppression" by Katelyn Chen

Donald H. Eichhorn Middle School, Lewisburg, PA

High School Second Place:

"Corruption and Prejudice" by Keatin Hughes

Line Mountain High School, Herndon, PA

Middle School Second Place:

"From Bias to Holocaust: Racial Prejudice and Antisemitism" by Benjamin Rogovin

Donald H. Eichhorn Middle School, Lewisburg, PA 

High School Honorable Mentions:

"The Dark Days of Death We Must Never Forget" by Alyssa Bates

Jersey Shore Area Senior High School, Jersey Shore, PA

"Never Again" by Nathaniel Bidding

Line Mountain High School, Herndon, PA

"Days of Remembrance Essay" by Austin Delgado

Shikellamy High School, Sunbury, PA

"Propaganda: Yesterday and Today" by Nicholas Fleck

Milton Area High School, Milton, PA

"Days of Remembrance Essay" by Carly Harter

Shikellamy High School, Sunbury, PA   

"In Remembrance" by Holly Hollenbach

Warrior Run High School, Turbotville, PA 

"Remembrance and Reflection of the Holocaust" by Griffin Snyder

Shikellamy High School, Sunbury, PA  

"Conditioning’s Role in the Holocaust" by Jack Weaver

Shikellamy High School, Sunbury, PA 

Middle School Honorable Mentions: 

"The Citizens That Changed the World: For the Better and For the Worse" by Makayla Baylor

Southern Columbia Area Middle School, Catawissa, PA

"All for a Superior Race" by Camille Cunningham

Columbia County Christian School, Bloomsburg, PA

"Dangers of Indoctrination" by Emily Dieffenderfer

Montgomery Area Junior and Senior High School, Montgomery, PA

"The Sparks of Hate Developing Into the Inferno of Genocide" by Annika Shields

Donald H. Eichhorn Middle School, Lewisburg, PA

"Lessons Learned from the Holocaust" by Charan Venkataswamy

Harlan Rowe Middle School, Athens, PA

First Place:

"Anti-Semitism" by Lillie Whiting

Danville Area High School, Danville, PA

Second Place:

"Eugenics and Its Impact on the Holocaust" by Paige Sabol

Danville Area High School, Danville, PA

Honorable Mentions:

"The Rise of Eugenics" by Jenna Brosious

Line Mountain Area High School, Herndon, PA

"The Plague of Antisemitism" by Cierra Clayton

Mount Carmel Area High School, Mt Carmel, PA

"Antisemitism: The Hate is Real" by  Ella DeWald  

Danville Area High School, Danville, PA

"How the Rediscovery of Eugenics Affected Nazi Germany" by Kathryn Fedder

Shikellamy High School, Sunbury, PA

"Anti-Semitism: A Plague Millenniums Old" by Nicholas Fleck

Milton Area High School, Milton, PA

"Anti-Semitism: Never Forget" by Tyler Jeffrey

Southern Columbia Area High School, Catawissa, PA

"Anti-Semitism Throughout History" by Katie Jones

Loyalsock Township High School, Williamsport, PA

"Anti-Semitism: Where It Began and Its Everlasting Impact" by Lily Saar

Montoursville Area High School, Montoursville, PA

"Eugenics" by Chloe Springman

Hughesville High School, Hughesville, PA

"The Effects of Anti-Semitism" by Angela Weng

Danville Area High School, Danville, PA

First Place:

"The Great Impasse of the Red Cross" by Jessie Morgan

Line Mountain High School, Herndon, PA

Second Place:

"The Protestant Church For and Against National Socialism" by Katie Corbeill

Home-Schooled, Danville, PA

Honorable Mentions:

"The White Rose" by Lauren Baylor

Shikellamy High School, Sunbury, PA

"The Role of the Catholic Church in the Holocaust" by Delaney Klinger

Line Mountain High School, Herndon, PA

"Days of Remembrance: Physicians Prior to and During the Holocaust" by Milea Koster

Selinsgrove Area High School, Selinsgrove, PA

"Youth Aliyah in the Holocaust" by Joshua Masser

Line Mountain High School, Herndon, PA

"Churches' Response to the Holocaust" by Madison Reeves

Montoursville Area High School, Montoursville, PA

“The White Rose, a Group that was not only Anti-Nazi but also Anti-Violence” by Lynsie Troutman

Shikellamy High School, Sunbury, PA