JA of Greater Washington announces winners of 2015 Junior Achievement Essay Competition sponsored by Mr. David Rubenstein

Today, Junior Achievement of Greater Washington announced the winners of the 2015 Junior Achievement Essay Competition. This year's competition was intense, as over 1,800 qualified applicants submitted compelling essays answering this year's question: “What does the American Dream mean to you and is it still thriving in Greater Washington?

Each year, a first, second, and third place winner are selected from each of Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia, and are each awarded a $10,000 scholarship. One grand prize winner is selected from all applicants receives a $20,000 scholarship. This year's winners are: 

Grand Prize Winner

Xiu Chen 
School Without Walls High School
Washington, DC

District of Columbia

First Place
Natalie Pargas
BASIS DC Public Charter School
Washington, DC

Second Place
Ifedamola Anifowose
Phelps Architecture, Construction & Engineering High School
Washington, DC

Third Place
Emma Reese
School Without Walls High School
Washington, DC

Maryland

First Place
Anene Uwanamodo
Wheaton High School
Silver Spring, MD 

Second Place
Marie Hatch
Walt Whitman High School
Bethesda, MD

Third Place
Ayibatari Owei
Paint Branch High School
Burtonsville, MD

Virginia

First Place
Zachary Stevenson
Loudoun Valley High School
Purcellville, VA

Second Place
Renee Beck
Washington-Lee High School
Arlington, VA

Third Place
David Fischer
Woodgrove High School
Purcellville, VA

All winning students will be recognized at a private awards ceremony next week. In addition, from each of Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia, the school with the greatest number of eligible applications will receive a $6,000 grant. This year's grant recipients are: 

District of Columbia - School Without Walls Senior High School
Maryland - Paint Branch High School
Virginia - Woodgrove High School

The Junior Achievement® Essay Competition, sponsored by David M. Rubenstein, was founded in 2008. Each year, high school students in Greater Washington are invited to write an essay and compete for over $110,000 in college scholarships. Through Mr. Rubenstein's generous financial commitment, this year's competition marks over $1 million in support of the Junior Achievement® Essay Competition. Junior Achievement of Greater Washington thanks Mr. Rubenstein for his support and commitment to Junior Achievement. 

ABOUT DAVID M. RUBENSTEIN
David M. Rubenstein is Co-CEO of The Carlyle Group, a global alternative asset manager based in Washington, DC. Mr. Rubenstein co-founded the firm in 1987. Since then, Carlyle has grown into a firm managing nearly $200 billion from 40 offices around the world. To honor his many business accomplishments, Mr. Rubenstein was inducted into the Washington Business Hall of Fame in November 2007.