Senior earns $5,000 prize for his winning essay
Jun 13, 2014 | Member News
Anthony Mills, a senior at Washington Township High School, has been selected as the winner in the AAA South Jersey Essay Scholarship contest. Mills earned $5,000 toward his college tuition with his winning entry.
The contest, open to all high school seniors living or attending school in Camden, Cumberland, Gloucester or Salem counties, presented a challenging scenario: Describe how you would create a public awareness campaign to stop people – especially teens – from texting and driving. What would the slogan be? What steps would you take to promote this campaign? Which key business partners would you want to be involved, and how would they help the campaign? Describe how and why you think your idea would be successful.
“I spent a lot of time planning for it,” Mills said of his winning essay.. “The writing took a couple of hours. For me, it’s hard to get started writing. Once I form all my ideas, I can get through it quicker.”
AAA’s judges praised Mills’ essay for its thoroughness, especially in trying to complete all of the aspects of the contest question within the 1,000-world limit.
The resulting paper was selected by a panel of judges as the top thesis from the more than 220 entries received. A total of 59 high schools were represented in the contest. All entrants received a free, one-year basic membership to AAA South Jersey.
The judges particularly liked Mills’ slogan, “Stay Alive, Just Drive,” because it was succinct and memorable.
“It just came to me,” the Sewell native said. “It’s catchy, and something that people can easily remember.”
Mills will use the $5,000 from AAA South Jersey toward his tuition at Rider University.
AAA South Jersey, with offices Voorhees, Sewell, Millville and Logan Township, has served South Jersey for more than 85 years.
As North America’s largest motoring and leisure travel organization, AAA provides more than 53 million members with travel, insurance, financial and automotive-related services. Since its founding in 1902, the not-for-profit, fully tax-paying AAA has been a leader and advocate for the safety and security of all travelers. AAA clubs can be visited on the Internet at AAA.com.
Editors: Photos and a copy of Mills’ winning entry is available upon request.