1st Place Winner Diverse Minds Writing Challenge
Writing Scholarship Contest Focuses on Tolerance and Diversity
I won the Diverse Minds Writing Challenge in the D.C.-metro area as a sophomore for my book “My Family Is Different,” which I wrote and illustrated. Diverse Minds is a contest by B’nai B’rith International where high school students write and illustrate children’s books to help elementary school children celebrate tolerance and diversity. As a contest winner, I received a $5,000 college scholarship and became a published author. The book was distributed to local schools, libraries, and community organizations, as well as to the annual TODAY Show Holiday Toy and Gift Drive. It’s also accessible in an e-book format and is available on iBooks and Amazon as a free download.
B’nai B’rith created this contest with the aim to enlighten, inspire, and educate America’s young people and their families in an effort to eradicate prejudices and strengthen ties among today’s youth.
https://www.bnaibrith.org/duke-ellington-school-of-the-arts-student-wins-dc-area-diverse-minds-writing-challenge-html/
In “My Family is Different,” a character named Delina decides to take a new art class and was very nervous about meeting new people. Delina’s art teacher tells her students that their topic for the day is drawing the people they love and their families. Delina wonders how she can draw her family, because she doesn’t have a father and questions what the other students might think of her “different family.” At the end of the class, all the children show one another their drawings and Delina realizes that everyone’s family is a little different but just as beautiful.
The children’s book “My Family’s Different” deals with children feeling uncomfortable because they do not fit the norm. I was inspired by teaching children from low-income and immigrant families at Sitar Arts Center and seeing how art can bring people together from different backgrounds. From my own experience, I know that exposing children to messages of tolerance at a young age can make a difference. When I was six, my family moved to Kyrgyzstan and I was dropped into a Russian language school, so I understand firsthand what it means to be an outsider and the importance of inclusion.