In celebration of Civic Learning Week, we are proud to announce the winners of the Power of We Creativity Contest — a showcase of how working together for the common good makes communities stronger. From across the state, young people answered the call to reflect, create, and speak up, and the results are remarkable.
The winning submissions you’ll find below are proof that civic imagination is alive and well. Each entry captures something real: a belief that communities grow stronger when people show up for one another, and that young voices belong at the center of that work.
Explore the winning submissions below.
Audio:
Sarah Behjet, 11th grade, Connecticut
Sarah is a 17-year-old Iraqi American junior from Farmington, Connecticut. As the founder of Bring Arab Youth Together (BAYT), Sarah catalyzes conversation and change for the Arab youth community in over 28 countries. As a student journalist, Sarah has written about Arab American identity and Middle Eastern minorities in outlets with over 600,000 monthly readers. Alongside using her words to increase Arab American representation, Sarah is passionate about using advocacy and research for good. Sarah advises the Arab American Youth Conference Communications Subcommittee and has researched with Yale University’s Professor Benjamin Foster, heightening Arab awareness in all spaces.
“My audio submission largely centers on the absence of a Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) box on the decennial census. This renders the MENA community statistically invisible; however, our vitality lives on as proof that we are not nonexistent. The purpose behind my submission is to inspire Americans of diverse cultural backgrounds to harness civic engagement in their communities. Through this crucial effort, America grows collectively with each voice uplifted.”
Listen to Sarah’s audio submission.
Essay:
Jamie Donnelly, 12th grade, New Jersey
Jamie is a 17-year-old student at Randolph High School. Jamie enjoys reading and writing, staying active through running, and traveling. Jamie is motivated, hardworking, and interested in using education to create meaningful opportunities for the future.
“While my family shares an immigrant story, I recognize that I do not face the same treatment as many others today because I am Irish Catholic. In the current climate of our country, people of color are disproportionately racially profiled, and the principles of the law and Constitution are too often ignored. My family is just as American as any other who come from immigrant backgrounds because being American should never depend on skin color—our diversity is what defines us.”
Read Jamie’s essay submission.
Written Art:
Emily Hsia, 11th grade, California
Emily is a junior at Arnold O. Beckman High School passionate about civic learning as both responsibility and art. She founded Canvas the Vote, an initiative that teaches civic education through creative expression, using art contests, workshops, an youth-led digital magazine, and youth-led events that make democracy tangible. Emily also launched Sunshine Project, delivering wellness kits to children in psychiatric care to remind them they are not alone. She is drawn to storytelling in all forms, from poetry, to theatre, to spoken word, because she believe voice is power, and communities are built when we dare to use it.
“The ‘recipe’ structure of my poem comes from my grandfather, who cooks without measuring anything. He trusts instinct, timing, and attention. I started thinking about community the same way. You can’t rush trust. You can’t skip disagreement. You have to keep showing up and adjusting. The poem reflects how I see civic life as something handmade and shared.”
Explore Emily’s written art submission.
Visual Art:
Alexandra Martinez, 11th grade, Georgia
Alexandra is a 16 year old artist, whose goal is to bring a smile to peoples faces through her paintings.
“As of right now there is so much injustice happening to the immigrants of this country and many people in my community are starting to believe that protest is meaningless. I made my painting with the hope that I could conjure a sense of community within its viewers. I want to inspire the people who don’t believe that protest can make a change.”
