Smithers Secondary School student and Telkwa resident Carissa Zotich is the winner of the essay contest which had youth write about how sports have helped counteract the attraction of gangs.
Called “Don’t Let Gangs Score”, the contest was put together by area MLA Doug Donaldson, who put things together with Dan Hamhuis, the Smithereen turned NHL hockey player.
The prize for her writing is a trip to Vancouver (donated by Hawkair) and two tickets to a Vancouver Canucks hockey game. Smithers Community Policing and the Gitxsan Chiefs Office were also sponsors of the contest.
“I want to congratulate the more than 80 young people who entered the contest writing about how involvement in sports gives a sense of belonging to a community,” said Donaldson. “I appreciate the effort they made and the three volunteer judges did a great job.”
The finalists in the contest came down to a seven-way tie before Carissa was called out as the winner.
Her essay covered the many sports she’s involved in, from socccer to volleyball to horse riding in the 4-H club.
She worked really hard on the essay and took her dad to the hockey game which was last Saturday.
Gangs aren’t a foreign concept for the SSS student, who has heard rumblings of organized crime through her school.
Fortunately it is something that hasn’t quite caught on, especially in her circles.
Donaldson will continue the anti-gang campaign with another essay contest in the fall, this time with an arts slant.
“The response for this contest was fantastic,” he said. “It’s all about highlighting a positive message and identifying opportunities, rather than focusing solely on a negative message, and just telling young people what they shouldn’t do.”
Donaldson was inspired to start the contest after reading about a possible spike in gang activity in a story printed on a recent Interior News front page.