Hadley Walker takes third at state for Patriot’s Pen

“Kids Can Be Heard”—that was the title of Hadley Walker’s award-winning essay and that is what she proved by winning third place in the State of South Dakota for the nationwide Patriot’s Pen essay contest.
Walker is an eighth grader at Hill City Middle School (HCMS) and the daughter of Sarah and Ethan Walker. She has lived in Hill City since 2018 and was homeschooled up until seventh grade. This fall, Walker had the opportunity to enter the Patriot’s Pen essay contest.
According to the official website, “Each year, nearly 68,800 students in sixth through eighth grades enter the VFW’s Patriot’s Pen youth essay contest for a chance to win their share of nearly $1 million in state and national awards.”
It continues, “The essay contest encourages young minds to examine America’s history, along with their own experiences in modern American society, by drafting a 300- to 400-word essay, expressing their views based on a patriotic theme chosen by the VFW Commander-in-Chief.”
Entries begin at the VFW Post level. For Walker, this was the Custer VFW Post No. 3442 which represents Hill City, Custer, Edgemont and Hot Springs.
Initially, Walker wrote her essay as a school assignment in her English class.
“It’s really good writing practice, and I really like them to enter into some sort of writing contest,” said Walker’s English teacher Lauryn Soulek.
Walker entered the contest last year as well and placed second in the region.
“I like the contest and how it involves younger kids in America’s politics. The theme this year was how kids have a voice in democracy, but I think that’s kind of the whole contest,” said Walker.
To help the students understand the theme “My Voice in America’s Democracy?” Soulek said, “I had them research democracy at first because being in middle school, they kind of know what democracy is but they haven’t gotten an in-depth study. Not the way they do in high school when they have a government class. We started off with the research so they had a foundation of what democracy is and what it looks like and some principles of democracy and how people actually participate in democracy.”
Once the class better understood what democracy was, they had a class discussion about it and created informational pamphlets about democracy to have in front of them as they wrote their essays.
“I had an idea right away,” said Walker. “It was kind of challenging, but it was easy because I liked what I was writing about.”
Walker’s essay focused on the importance of learning about democracy and listening to other people in a democracy.
She wrote, “Learning about democracy and the key components should be prioritized as a US citizen. Democracy is the government system under which America is run. It supports respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, free and fair elections and separation of powers. Voting is important. It’s how citizens collectively decide on who they trust to run our country effectively and purposefully. Educating yourself is a simple yet effective way to make your voice stand out in democracy.”
As for listening to one another, Walker wrote, “I believe people should listen more than they talk. In democracy, the government and citizens must function as one in order to run the country. Citizens should pay attention to politicians and authority. Something people don’t usually do is accept new opinions they may not agree with. In democracy, citizens and government need to learn to agree and disagree with each other. When living in the U.S., it’s important to just stop and listen sometimes.”
Later on in her essay, Walker concluded by saying, “This topic is important to me because so many kids think they should stand back and watch the adults run the country. They think adults play the biggest role in democracy. The truth is, it’s almost the opposite, and the next generation should stand up and make their voice heard in our country. You don’t need to be able to vote or drive to be a part of democracy. No matter how old, any kid can be heard in our great country, the land of the free and home of the brave.”
Although every student was required to write an essay, they were not required to enter it in the competition. Soulek said she graded the essays based on similar criteria to the contest, which included knowledge of the theme, theme development and clarity of ideas.
Of the contest itself, Soulek said, “It actually shows that their writing can have an impact, and they’re actually really good writers. They don’t think that they are, but they’re really good. With a contest like Patriot’s Pen, it gets them thinking about the things that they can do to make a change like right now as middle school students, and it does show them that they can make that change. They don’t have to wait until they’re adults or can vote.”
Students can also win cash prizes for their entries, which Soulek said was partially how she incentivized students to enter.
When asked why she decided to enter the competition, Walker said, “I really liked the prompt, and it was just fun to write. So I thought I might as well enter it.”
After that, Walker said, “I kind of forgot about it after I turned it in.”
When the results came back, Walker had won first place in the region and was one of five students from across the state who got to travel to Pierre for some special tours and an award ceremony.
“I was so thrilled to hear she was awarded the Patriot’s Pen contest. I always knew Hadley had a special way of communicating through writing,” said Haldey’s mother, Sarah. “She is a gifted writer and communicates her thoughts carefully. She has a desire to see things played out with fairness and justice, and I can see that in her writing.”
Admittedly, Sarah did not know Walker had even entered until the results came back and said, “Part of me was very surprised to hear she won, but with her being a very great writer, I wasn’t totally surprised. I am so happy she entered.”
Upon hearing she had won, Walker said, “I was really excited, and I was excited to go to the capitol.”
While in Pierre Jan. 13, Walker toured the State Supreme Court, State Capitol and the Governor’s Office. She also met Gov. Larry Rhoden. Walker’s dad and brother went with her, and she said it was nice to have family along. Afterward, Walker was invited to attend an awards banquet.
“It was really fun. It was just a good experience. I didn’t really care if I won or not. It was just really fun to be there,” said Walker.
During the banquet, it was announced that Walker had won third place in the State of South Dakota for the Patriot’s Pen essay contest. She was presented with a plaque and received a total of $500 in prize money. Soulek said she was very proud of Walker.
In retrospect, Walker said she is glad she entered and is still thinking about whether or not she will enter the VFW’s high school essay competition Voice of Democracy next year.
“I want to give a special thanks to Hill City schools for having the kids enter this contest,” said Sarah. “It is very important for students to understand what democracy is and that they have a voice. It is my prayer that she (Walker) has a good understanding of what it means to be a good citizen.”