Karen Sutherland, left, an eighth-grade student at Hazelwood Southeast Middle School and Nyah Brummer, a fourth-grade student at Lawson Elementary School, are two of the five winners in the annual NCCU Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Oratorical Contest. The winners will read their essays on Sunday, January 16 at 3:00 p.m. in the Terry M. Fischer Theatre on the campus of St. Louis Community College-Florissant Valley.

Nyah Brummer and Karen Sutherland, students in the Hazelwood School District, are two of the five winners in the North County Churches Uniting for Racial Harmony and Justice’s (NCCU) annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Oratorical Contest.

Both students will read their winning essays on Sunday, January 16 at 3:00 p.m. in the Terry M. Fischer Theatre on the campus of St. Louis Community College – Florissant Valley. This year’s theme is Defining the Dream: Excellence, Engagement and Equity.  

“I wrote a paragraph on each word. I defined the word and explained what it meant to me. I also explained how Dr. King showed engagement, equity and excellence,” said Sutherland, an eighth-grade student at Hazelwood Southeast Middle School.

She said she finished her essay in about three hours.  

“I was surprised I won because there were a lot of good people there,” she explained, referring to the NCCU’s finalist oratory last month, from which the winners are chosen. Seventeen finalists in four different categories – first through fifth grades, sixth through eighth grades, ninth through twelfth grades and adults – were selected from 99 entrants and the finalists read their essays before judges and an audience at the John Knox Presbyterian Church. Seven of the essay finalists came from the Hazelwood School District.

“All seven of the finalists represented your district well; you should be proud of the education that you have provided them,” said Dr. Barbara Thompson, chair of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Oratory Contest.  

Sutherland explained the inspiration behind her essay.

“I wanted to put in my own words how Dr. King made a change and made a difference,” she said. 

Brummer, a fourth-grade student at Lawson Elementary School, said it took her two hours to complete her essay.

“I was already interested in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr,” Brummer said. “Being the same race as he is, it feels good to me knowing that he wanted to make a difference for me.” 

She said she is nervous, knowing she will speak to an auditorium of people she does not know but she is also surprised she won.

“There were two other people in my class whose essays I thought were terrific and they did not win,” she said.  

Each student winner will receive a $100 savings bond.