Leia Wall earns third place in New York State for Voice of Democracy speech
March 4th, 2025 by Jessica Sorell
SCCS junior Leia Wall recently won $1,000 for her Voices of Democracy essay, placing third overall in the entire state.
Leia Wall, a junior at Sandy Creek Central School, placed third overall in the New York State Voice of Democracy (VOD) competition, earning a $1,000 cash prize for her outstanding essay.
VOD advisor Rob Ferguson praised Leias accomplishment, stating, We are incredibly proud of Leia and honored to have her represent our district.
A program sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), VOD provides high school students with the opportunity to express their thoughts on democracy and patriotism through written and recorded audio essays.
Each year, nearly 25,000 ninth through 12th-grade students from across the country compete for their share of more than $1 million in educational scholarships and incentives awarded through the program.
The 2024-2025 competition theme was "Is America Today Our Forefathers Vision?" Students wrote and recorded an essay responding to this prompt.
Walls speech began by highlighting the importance of change in shaping the nations future:
If there is one thing that I can say I have learned in my 16 years of life, it is this; change is inevitable. Not only is it inevitable, but it is mandatory for success. Change is found all throughout history, it is the backbone of life as we know it. Species change to adapt to their environment. Humans change to adjust to day-to-day life. Countries change to better themselves. The United States of America changes every day to better itself.
Students at SCCS have been participating in the VOD competition under the leadership of Ferguson since 2006. For more information on the program, visit https://vfw.org/
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