News : Humiston participates in Voice of Democracy Scholarship Essay Contest

Victoria Humiston, daughter of Steph and Darrin Humiston, of the Vinton-Shellsburg Community School District, won the district competition as part of the VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars). Vinton-Shellsburg is located in District 2. According to local VFW commander Dale Henry, this district contains small towns from Vinton to the Mississippi River and large cities like Cedar Rapids and Davenport. Victoria's essay was selected as the District 2 winner, the first time for a VSHS student. 10 district winners went to Des Moines to be recognized for their accomplishments and to compete to represent the State of Iowa. Participants recorded an essay that addresses the theme chosen by the national VFW. The theme for the 2021 essay was America: Where Do We Go From Here? Students in 9th-12th grade apply at the county post level and then each post sends their winner's essay to the district level.
Victoria began this process in her American Humanities class, where she (and her classmates) were given the option by Ms. Cox and Mrs. Steffen to participate in the essay contest or to complete a different writing assignment. Victoria and seven of her classmates chose to select an opportunity to potentially win $30,000, the amount won at the national level.
Although VSHS will not have a $30,000 winner, there were students who won smaller amounts at the local level thanks to the local VFW, and Victoria was able to gain additional scholarship funds at the district level. More importantly, "Victoria represented her family, school, and community proudly, and we are extremely proud of her," said Mrs. Steffen.