Larchmont Rotary Honors Hommocks Essay Contest Winners
Six Hommocks Middle School students were honored by the Rotary Club of Larchmont as winners of the 2026 Essay Contest during its May meeting at the Larchmont Yacht Club. Club member Marian White has led the effort for the last 24 years, coordinating in September with the Hommocks English Department to determine a relevant topic and then selecting Rotarian essay judges to determine the winners. Each May, families, teachers, Rotarians and special guests have gathered to celebrate the most talented of the young writers.
For this year’s topic, students in the 6th, 7th and 8th grades were asked to write about tolerance: accepting people even if they are different from you in ideas, looks, beliefs and habits. More than 100 students entered and four Rotary Club members (Michael Gedigk, Mitch Weisburgh, Ben Williams and Rafina Ibragamova) judged the entries on various criteria such as creativity, expression and grammar. Marian White thanked the teachers of the English Department for the effort each one has put in over the years encouraging their students to enter the contest.
Sixth grade winners were: Reagan Smith and Maya Tripathi
Seventh grade winners were: Manu Priogo and Elisabeth Schulz
Eighth grade winners were: Tala Siman and Pax Yotebieng
Each student read his/her entry to the audience. Marian White awarded each student with a gift certificate from J Anderson Books in Larchmont. After the luncheon, Club Treasurer Marion Anderson gave each student four award certificates from the offices of New York State Assemblyman Steve Otis, New York State Senator Shelley Mayer, County Legislator Catherine Parker and the Larchmont Rotary.
Guests are welcome at the Larchmont Rotary Club’s bi-monthly meetings. Interested individuals can contact the club at https://larchmontrotary.org. To view more pictures from the Awards Luncheon, go to: larchmontrotary.org/PhotoAlbums/student-essay-awards-2026/.