Local students awarded for essays

Caitlin Keane of La Jolla Country Day, second from left, recently took second place in a student essay contest sponsored by Sen. Christine Kehoe, D-San Diego. For her essay describing the economy and global conflict, she received a $100 gift certificate from AT&T, a San Diego Padres prize pack and SeaWorld books.

More than 600 essays were submitted by fifth-graders on the topic of a ‘Letter to President Obama.’ Others pictured, from left, are Kehoe, third-place winner Kiana Moi of Torrey Hills Elementary, first-place winner Pooja Bisarya of Hawthorne Elementary School and Brian Gray, executive director of external affairs for AT&T. Moi’s essay calling for a ban on smoking earned her a $50 gift certificate from AT&T, a San Diego Padres prize pack and SeaWorld books.