Lima Senior student wins DAR essay contest

LIMA - Katie Mefferd didn't know the essay topic until she was to sit down and spend no more than two hours writing it.

Still, the Lima Senior High School senior breezed through her 500 words and earned herself a $50 scholarship from the Lima chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She's now headed to the state competition.

While Mefferd said everyone was equally qualified, guidance counselor Lisa Ciminillo said upon hearing her essay, she knew Mefferd would win.

Lima Senior was one of 13 schools invited to compete in the group's Good Citizen Award Essay Contest. Students wrote on "Our American Heritage and Our Responsibility for Preserving It."

"I went with what we can do today to preserve our American heritage in little ways," Mefferd said.

She wrote about reciting the "Pledge of Allegiance" and honoring soldiers, along with ways today's youth can preserve their heritage.

"We are a melting pot. Everyone here has so many different heritages," she added, saying people can learn from each other.

The essay came easy to Mefferd because she likes to write and has always been good at it. She'll likely enroll in Ohio University's journalism program next year. She's not sure what she'll do, but is leaning toward writing for a newspaper or magazine. She's interested in both news and sports.

Vice president of the National Honor Society, Mefferd maintains a 4.0 grade-point average. She is also vice president of Distributive Education Clubs of America, and is competing in the state competition this week.

Mefferd is on Lima Senior's softball, track, swimming and soccer teams. She previously played volleyball. She swims at Sherwood Pool and helps with children during the summers. She also works in the school bookstore.

Mefferd volunteers with the school's Big Brothers/Big Sisters program. She helps a Unity Elementary School first-grader once a week.

"I've noticed the change in the little girl I work with," she said. "She's a better reader and she wants to read now."