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Julia Culbert of Santa Clara Valley Wins National Contest

Released on Mon, May 10, 2010

Washington, D.C. - The American Immigration Council is pleased to announce the winners of the national 5th Grade "Why I Am Glad America Is a Nation of Immigrants" creative writing contest.

Fifth grade students from around the nation submitted thousand of entries. Top entries were sent to a panel of celebrity judges. The winners are as follows:

• 1st Place: Julia Culbert, Saratoga Elementary School, Saratoga, CA


• 2nd Place: Emily Margaret Lindal, Laurelhurst Elementary School, Seattle, WA


• 3rd Place: Kathryn Long, Summerfield Elementary School, Summerfield, NC


• Honorable Mention: Teagan Betori, Lake Travis Elementary School, Austin, TX & Deidre Heavey, St. Gabriel School, San Francisco California.

First place winner Julia Culbert’s winning entry, “America’s Fried,” is a delightful fable about a group of mice who argue about politics but come together while cooking up a batch of fried rice. “My fried rice is mixed, like with each person immigrating here, and it tastes better with a little bit of each, like all the different cultures in America.”

Culbert’s essay was judged the winner by critically acclaimed authors Firoozeh Dumas, Belle Yang, Warren St. John and Gish Jen.

The authors of the top five entries will have a flag flown over the Capitol in their honor. Culbert’s winning piece will be printed in the Congressional Record and she will receive an all-expenses-paid trip for four to Washington, DC, where she will recite her essay at the American Immigration Council’s Annual Benefit on Friday, July 2.

Each year, the American Immigration Council hosts its Annual Benefit to recognize the contributions and impact immigrants have on America. This year’s gala takes place Friday evening, July 2, during the 2010 AILA Annual Conference in Washington, DC and will focus on recognizing the contribution of female immigrants.

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