11th Grader Allison Kalmick Honored in New York Times Annual Student Editorial Contest
11th grader Allison Kalmick received an honorable mention in the New York Times Annual Student Editorial Contest for her original essay, “A Triplet’s Experience With Autism: Debunking the Myths.” The contest is open to all middle school and high school students, ages 10-19, and this year, it received over 5,000 submissions.
When the New York Times announced that it would offer a free digital subscription to all high school students and teachers after the pandemic first started, English teacher Alexandra Padilla encouraged her students to write an essay approaching a topic from a unique perspective and to submit it to the Student Editorial Contest.
For Allison, it wasn’t difficult to pick a topic because she is passionate about demystifying autism. “I’ve always felt very strongly that once people realize that kids on the spectrum are not all alike, they can get the help that they need,” she says. In part because she wanted to challenge herself, but also because New Roads has always encouraged her to “speak up and use my voice if I believe in something,” Allison felt compelled to enter the contest. Having received nationwide recognition from such an esteemed publication as the New York Times has made Allison feel more confident in her writing and “it definitely opens up some possibilities” if she were to pursue a writing career in the future, she observes.
New Roads School is a college preparatory K-12 private independent school in Santa Monica, CA, serving over 514 school age children from the greater Los Angeles area. New Roads School provides an inspired educational program from which an authentically diverse student population, mirroring the rich diversity of Los Angeles, develops a personal dedication to learning, a respect for independent thinking, and an expanding curiosity about the world and its people.
NOTICE OF NONDISCRIMINATORY POLICY AS TO STUDENTS New Roads School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.