Winners of Sixth Annual Montgomery County Commission for Women’s ‘Girl Power Contest’ Announced

For Immediate Release: Wednesday, May 10, 2023

The winners of the Montgomery County Commission for Women’s (CFW) sixth annual “Girl Power Contest” have been selected. The contest asked entrants to write/illustrate their thoughts on giving advice to the six new female members of the County Council “to make sure our community is a place where women and girls can feel safe and encouraged.” The winners are Natalie Jean (adult category), Morgen Thompson (high school), Mya Twyman (middle school) and Colette Jaksic (elementary school).

The Girl Power Contest ran from March 1-30 in celebration of Women’s History Month. The contestants were asked to address the following question: “We now have six women on the County Council. What advice would you give them to make sure our community is a place where women and girls can feel safe and encouraged?”

CFW commissioners and representatives from Montgomery County Public Libraries and Friends of the Library, Montgomery County judged more than 30 entries. Entries could be submitted as short stories, drawings, songs or poems. The entries were evaluated on creativity and content.

Winners were selected in four categories: adult, high school, middle school and elementary school.

The 2023 winners and honorable mention recipients are:

Elementary

• First place: Colette Jaksic (Sligo Creek Elementary School)
• Honorable mention: Morgan Alexis Johnson (Spark Matsunaga Elementary School)

Middle School

• First place: Mya Twyman (Forest Oak Middle School)
• Honorable mention: Marilyn Zhang (Kingsview Middle School)

High School

• First place: Morgen Thompson (Holton-Arms School)
• Honorable mention: Daniela Martinez (Poolesville High School)

Adult

• First place: Natalie Jean
• Honorable mention: Natasha Shangold

The contest was sponsored by the Montgomery County Commission for Women, Montgomery County Public Libraries and Friends of the Library, Montgomery County.

All contest winners will be featured on the Commission for Women’s website and its social media. The winners will receive a CFW Swag Bag.

For more information about the Commission for Women, visit its website. The CFW can be followed on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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Release ID: 23-203
Media Contact: Carmen Kaarid 301-740-5108
Categories: Award