Musse wins statewide writing contest
![Fadumo Musse of Lewiston (2nd from l.) receives an award at the Blaine House as one of three statewide winners in the annual Journey into Writing Contest. At left is Maine Commissioner of Education Stephen Bowen and at right is First Lady Ann Lepage.](http://twincitytimes.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/n.Musse_.WritCont-300x217.jpg)
Fadumo Musse of Lewiston (2nd from l.) receives an award at the Blaine House as one of three statewide winners in the annual Journey into Writing Contest. At left is Maine Commissioner of Education Stephen Bowen and at right is First Lady Ann Lepage.
Fadumo Musse, a junior at Lewiston High School, has been selected as one of three winners in the Maine Community College System’s Journey Into Writing Contest and named a 2013 Governor’s Young Writer of the Year.
With the other two winners, Muse was recently presented with an award and a $2,500 check by First Lady Ann LePage and MCCS President John Fitzsimmons in a ceremony at the Blaine House. The other two winners were Emily Evans of Searsport and Arianna Tang of Frankfort, both juniors at Searsport District High School.
“We are very proud to showcase the talent of high school students from across Maine,” said President Fitzsimmons at the awards ceremony. “These accomplished young writers’ innate talent has been nurtured by their teachers, who have allowed their skills to develop and now be recognized as the best in Maine.”
Musse won for her essay “The Land of my Memories.” The three winners were chosen from five finalists out of a total of 137 entries in this year’s contest, representing over 40 Maine high schools. Over the past nine years, more than 1,900 Maine students have submitted entries.
The judges for the 9th annual contest were noted Maine authors Susan Kenney, Lewis Robinson and Bill Roorbach. The contest is supported by U.S. Cellular, which has provided $80,000 in prize money to contest finalists since the program was established in 2005.
The contest is open to all high school juniors and home-schooled students of the same age. To enter, students submit a short story, essay, or poem of up to 1,500 words. For more information about the contest or to view this year’s top five entries, see http://writing.mccs.me.edu/.