Milpitas Student Winners in Library Essay Contest

Meet the winners of the 2011 Essay Writing Contest, conducted by the Milpitas Public Library and the Milpitas Library Advisory Commission. Our spotlight is on the three first-place winners of the 2011 "What the Library Means to Me" Essay Contest—Blaze Ann Carbonell, Divyesh Chota, and Ramandeep Tumber.

The Milpitas Public Library and the Library Advisory Commission's essay contest for all public and private students in Milpitas came to fruition this year with more than 80 essays submitted among three grade-level categories.

The Saturday award ceremony recognized both winners and judges, concluding National Library Week.

Elpidio Estioko, who chairs the commission, welcomed the crowd filled with participants, judges, winners and their families.

Estioko welcomed Honorable Mayor Jose Esteves to the stage, who spoke about what the library meant to him. Esteves said he was inspired by the children and families who use the library, and pointed out the essays entered into the contest showed how vital the library is to the community of Milpitas.

“It’s our life and future,” he said.

Next, Estioko and Community Librarian Linda Arbaugh handed out certificates to all of the participants of the contest, as well as to the judges who spent many hours reading all the essays.

Awards and cash prizes were then handed out to the top three winners of each category, and the first-place winners were asked to read their winning essays to the crowd.

First-Place Winner for Grades 4-6: Blaze Ann Carbonell

Blaze credits the library for allowing her to explore what the future holds for her. She looks forward to traveling Europe one day, and thanks to the library she can start learning about all the places she hopes to go to someday. Blaze plans to use her prize money to buy an E-reader, because she spends most of her time reading.

First-Place Winner for Grades 7-8: Divyesh Chotai

Divyesh thanked the library for providing opportunities to learn more about himself. Through library events such as Peaceful Poets and a visit from a graphic novelist, he has begun drawing and participating in poetry slams in his community. Divyesh admits that he was once very shy, but he has had several public-speaking opportunities, thanks to the events he has attended at the Milpitas Public Library. He plans to put his prize money toward his college fund.

First-Place Winner in Grades 9-12: Ramandeep Tumber

The title of Ramandeep’s essay, "My Dear Friend, the Library," describes how her view of the library has changed throughout the years. When she was younger, her parents made her go to the library instead of going to the park or the mall. Now that she’s older and able to make her own decisions, she prefers the library. Whether it’s an SAT prep course, volunteering opportunities or relaxing with music and a magazine, the Milpitas Public Library provides her with everything she needs or wants. Ramandeep also plans to put her prize money toward college.

A complete list of the winners are included below:

Grades 4-6

Grades 7-8

Grades 9-12