Chagrin Falls High School
Junior Morgan Walker Pens Winning
“We Solve Problems” Essay
More than 100 Chagrin Valley and national business
professionals, students, administrators and families
joined together March 30 at Chagrin Falls
Township Hall to celebrate the winning students of
the “We Solve Problems Essay Contest.” More than
700 students from Chagrin Falls and Kenston High
Schools participated in the essay contest, which
focused on solving the issue of cyberbullying.
Created by the Gertsburg Law Firm and The Chagrin
Valley Chamber of Commerce, students’ 600word essays were judged by nearly 200 business and
government leaders, with Jeff Hoffman, cofounder
of Priceline.com, and Len Komoroski, CEO of the
Cleveland Cavaliers, serving as final judges.
Talking with the 16 finalists at the reception,
Hoffman conveyed an important message to the
students.
“The essays were the start of your decision to make a
difference. Do something. Help someone. Stand
up once. You will realize that one person can make a
difference.”
Morgan Walker, a
Chagrin Falls High
School junior, was
honored as the
overall winner. In
her essay,
Walker wrote,
“schools can
promote the
movement against cyberbullying by intervening in
student
disputes, inflicting consequence on offenders, and
providing accessible reporting systems for
perceived cyberbullying incidents.” A total of $10,000
in prize money was distributed among the
finalists and the schools. Walker received $1,000 for
20
April 2016
her winning essay. Chagrin Falls and Kenston
school districts received $2,000 – funded by
the contest’s sponsors – to be earmarked for
implementing the ideas brought forth in the essays.
Chagrin Falls Schools’ grade winners include:
• Chagrin Falls 9th Grade Winner: Anna Orywal
• Chagrin Falls 9th Grade Runner-Up: Adriana Holst
• Chagrin Falls 10th Grade Winner: Abbey Cloonan
• Chagrin Falls 10th Grade Runner-Up: Mikala Izzo
• Chagrin Falls 11th Grade Winner: Morgan Walker
• Chagrin Falls 11th Grade Runner-Up: Alyson
Bergomi
• Chagrin Falls 12th Grade Winner: Molly Burke
• Chagrin Falls 12th Grade Runner-Up: Natalie Welch
Molly Gebler, executive director of the Chagrin
Valley Chamber of Commerce expressed her
gratitude to the Chamber members who participated
in the essay contest and echoed Hoffman’s call to
action.
“The ideas brought forth from this contest
were powerful. I challenge those students
who participated to not stop with this essay
contest. I encourage them to continue on the
path of finding a solution to cyberbullying
and holding their peers, parents and faculty
accountable for initiating the ideas they
shared.” said Gebler.
The top 16 winning essays can be found at http://
www.gertsburglaw.com/essay.html.
Chagrin Falls High School junior Morgan Walker
was honored as the overall winner
“The written word, when done
properly, is powerful,” said
Alex Gertsburg, head of the
Gertsburg Law Firm. “It can
be constructive and destructive. Cyberbullying is an extremely destructive way to use
the written word. This contest
was a vehicle for reversing the
destruction that cyberbullying
can cause. These students addressed it head on. They created the dialogue and opportunity to think and talk about it.
And they brought forth realistic
solutions to help solve it.”
Chagrin Falls 9th Grade
Chagrin Falls 10th Grade
Runner-Up: Adriana Holst Runner-Up: Mikala Izzo
Chagrin Falls 11th Grade
Runner-Up: Alyson
Bergomi
Chagrin Falls 12th Grade
Runner-Up: Natalie Welch
Chagrin Falls 9th Grade
Winner: Anna Orywal
Chagrin Falls 11th Grade
Winner: Morgan Walker
Chagrin Falls 12th Grade
Winner: Molly Burke
Chagrin Falls 10th Grade
Winner: Abbey Cloonan
U
SUPER NEWS
21