On Thursday, March 28th, State Rep. Dave Yaccarino presented the winner of his annual Women’s History Month Essay Contest with a special state citation.
Virginia Tupper, a sixth-grade student at North Haven Middle School, was selected by her teachers as the winner of Rep. Yaccarino’s annual contest, acknowledging the excellence of her essay celebrating Ruth A. Lucas.
Participants were asked to write an essay on the prompt, “Important Women in Connecticut’s History and How Their Contributions to the State and Nation Affect Me.”
Ruth A. Lucas, the subject of Virginia’s winning essay, was “the first African American woman to attain the rank of full Colonel in the Air Force and a huge advocate for high education as well as equality for women,” Tupper wrote.
She was accompanied by her mother and sisters, Superintendent Patrick Stirk, North Haven Middle School Laurie Bankowksi, and Language Arts teacher Amy Pandolfi.
Rep. Yaccarino said, “I want to congratulate Virginia for her accomplishment and her detailed and advanced writing. Her knowledge of and respect for Women’s History in Connecticut is inspiring. Virginia gives North Haven so much to be proud of.”
Women’s History Month is celebrated in March each year.