This year’s Dorchester Day Essay Contest, sponsored by The Reporter in partnership with the Dot Day Parade Committee, invited students in grades 6-8 to reflect on the neighborhood’s history, future, and new ways to celebrate Boston’s biggest and most diverse neighborhood.
A panel of judges from The Reporter and the Forry Foundation for Community Journalism reviewed the entries submitted by April 24, and after careful consideration finalized our top three choices on May 8. It was not an easy decision as there were many strong entrants and every young participant’s work had merit and featured great ideas.
First-place honors went to Quinton Vo (above), whose essay on “Waterfront & Climate Future” imagined Dorchester’s 400th anniversary as both a celebration and a call to action. Quinton, who is a sixth grade student at the Richard J. Murphy School in Neponset, proposed transforming future Dorchester Day events into opportunities for environmental stewardship, including marsh grass planting, improved shoreline access, and community “Resilience Hubs” along the Neponset River and Boston Harbor. He also envisioned a “Youth Shoreline Corps” that would empower local students to become environmental leaders and caretakers of the coastline they will inherit.
Scarlett Burke, also a Murphy School sixth grader, earned second place for her essay focused on Dorchester’s 400th anniversary. Writing about the importance of honoring both the neighborhood’s diversity and Indigenous history, Scarlett reflected on the ways community celebrations can bring together people from many different backgrounds while preserving the stories that shaped Dorchester over centuries.
Third place was a tie that went to the Novoa brothers, Mikey and Jake, who are no doubt familiar with that dynamic. The twins, who are sixth graders at Pope John Paul II Academy-Neponset, delivered essays that lifted up their experiences growing up in Dorchester. Both wrote about how neighborhood organizations like the Boys & Girls Club, local sports leagues, and summer programs helped them build confidence and discover new interests.
The winning essays will be printed in the Dot Day edition of The Reporter, which will be published on June 4.
We’re excited to share them with our readers, and we are grateful to all of the participants in this contest.
-Bill Forry
