Billy Nguyen, a senior at Lincoln High School, beat over 200 other contestants on his way to winning the 8th Annual A Bridge for Kids Essay Contest. This is the second time in 3 years that a senior from Lincoln has won the $2,500 first prize. In 2018, Kevin Banks bested a similar number of entries in winning the top prize.
This year, students were asked to address something they had done in their life that they were the most proud of. A panel of 15 judges reviewed the essays using a diverse set of criteria including the writer’s creativity, originality, clarity, and overall impact.
Billy, his family and the winning essay!
Finishing in second place and collecting $1,000 for her efforts was Stephanie Nguyen, a senior from The Preuss School; and third place honors went to her classmate Mayerling Colin . Ten students in total were selected as this year’s winners, with 6 different high schools represented, a new record. This is also Mayerling’s second finish in the top 3 and third in the top 20, both new records. Her essay was voted the second best in 2018.
Christine Bach celebrates her Top 10 finish
8th Annual A Bridge for Kids Essay Contest Winners
| First | Last | High School | Class of | Place |
| Bily | Nguyen | Lincoln HS | 2020 | 1 |
| Stephanie | Nguyen | Preuss | 2020 | 2 |
| Mayerling | Colin | PREUSS | 2020 | 3 |
| Hafsa | Hussein | Crawford | 2020 | 4 |
| Ignacio | Vazquez | Preuss | 2020 | 5 |
| Ananely | Alonso | GPA | 2021 | 6 |
| Joel | Castro | Hoover HS | 2022 | 7 |
| Lilian | Huynh | Preuss | 2022 | 8 |
| Kristen | Hwang | Crawford | 2021 | 9 |
| Christine | Bach | Helix | 2021 | 10 |
Stephanie Nguyen wins $1,000 for her second place finish