Kevin Banks, a Senior at Lincoln High School, Claims 1st Prize in 6th Annual Essay Contest

“As a young Black man from a single-parent household, I would like to defy the odds by becoming the first member of my immediate family to graduate from college. I am determined to make a positive impact on society but more importantly on my community. Being the second oldest of 8 (5 from my mother) and the oldest boy with 6 younger brothers, it is important for me to be a role-model to my brothers especially since our father has not been in any of our lives. I would also like to be a positive role-model to the youth from my neighborhood and show them the importance of a quality education and while we can use sports as a means to get to school we should focus on our educational endeavors to gain success.”

Excerpt from Kevin Banks’ Essay

We’re excited to announce the winners of the annual A Bridge for Kids Essay Contest. High school students from across the county submitted more than 175 essays, addressing the topic of their personal goals and what they perceive as the obstacles to achieving them. A panel of volunteers judged the essays, considering the writing’s creativity, originality, clarity, and overall impact.

First place in the essay contest has been awarded to Kevin Banks, a student from Lincoln High School in the Chollas View neighborhood east of downtown San Diego; second place went to Mayerling Colin from The Preuss School, UCSD; and third place honors go to Benjamin Lam from Helix Charter High School. In all, 10 students were selected as this year’s winners, from 9 different San Diego high schools, with the 1st Place winner, Kevin Banks, receiving a $2,500 sponsorship, 2nd Place a $1,000 sponsorship, 3rd-5th Place a $250 Amazon gift card, and 6th-10th a $100 Amazon gift card.

“We were very pleased with the record number essays we received for this year’s Essay Contest,” said A Bridge for Kids co-founder and CEO Michael Nance. “The students’ pieces showed great maturity, creativity, and promise, and we’re happy to both showcase their work as well as provide them with sponsorships that can get them closer to achieving their goals. I encourage the friends and supporters of A Bridge for Kids to read the essays to see the caliber and earnestness of the students we collectively support.”

Thank you to all of the students for participating, to the school administrators and educators for being the students’ advocates, and to our generous donors for making these valuable A Bridge for Kids programs possible.

Read Kevin Banks’ full, First Place-winning Essay:

https://abridgeforkids.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Kevin-B-Lincoln-HS-2018-Essay-1.pdf