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02/13/2019 07:30 AMSeventh-grader Nathaniel “Nathan” Kerr has already done much to make East Shoreline Catholic Academy (ESCA) proud of this remarkable student in recent months. But on Jan. 13, school pride rose another notch, when his essay was selected by the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Connecticut Department of as Connecticut’s 2019 state winner of the Patriot’s Pen contest.
Nathan is in his first year attending ESCA, which was established in 2018 and opened its doors to students at the former St. Mary’s Catholic School on Cedar Street in Branford in September 2018. ESCA is a science, technology, religion, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STREAM) model and successor school of St. Mary’s and Our Lady of Mercy in Madison, where Nathan was a student. ESCA serves students in grades pre-K through 8 hailing from towns including Branford, Guilford, Madison, East Haven, and other points across the shoreline.
In October, ESCA was invited to have students enter the annual Patriot’s Pen essay contest under the sponsorship of Guilford VFW Post 7666. Nathan won the local and district prizes, which put him in contention for the state prize.
Nathan’s essay, “Why I Honor the American Flag,” went on to be selected as the 2019 state winner on Jan. 13 in Rocky Hill at the Connecticut VFW Voice of Democracy & Patriot’s Pen Annual Awards Dinner. Nathan’s essay has now been forwarded to compete at the national level, with the first place winner to be announced on Monday, March 4. The national winner receives a $5,000 scholarship and all-expense trip to Washington, D.C.
According to the national VFW organization, more than 125,000 students in grades 6 to 8 enter the VFW’s Patriot’s Pen youth essay contest annually. Nathan has already beaten the odds to become one of just 53 national finalists of the 2019 contest. For his part, Nathan says he’s just happy—and a little surprised—to have won the state prize.
“I was basically writing it as a homework assignment, and then after I had turned it in, that’s when I realized I could submit it, and just decided to,” says Nathan, 12.
ESCA history and geography teacher Nancy Addorisio gave Nathan’s class the Patriot’s Pen assignment in the fall.
“It had come my way about the contest, and I told the students it would count as a homework assignment, but explained if you’d like to take it a step further, you could enter it,” says Nancy. “With Nathan’s essay, when I read it, I was really struck. I love the way he said the flag is part of everything. I said, ‘That’s an interesting take on it.’ His was a little bit different.”
At the end of October, essay judges of VFW Post 7666 agreed, selecting Nathan’s piece as the post’s local winner. From there, Nathan was invited with other local winners from across the district to attend the Voice of Democracy (a contest for grades 9 to 12) and Patriot’s Pen Awards Ceremony on Dec. 9, where Nathan was selected as a district Patriot’s Pen essay winner. That honor put him in the running for the state prize. Nathan and his family were in attendance on Jan. 13 in Rocky Hill when his essay was selected for the win at the state level.
“I was surprised. I didn’t really think this would go too far, and then [Jan. 13] I went, and I got the state award,” says Nathan, who also showed his ability to be a good sport in the process.
“It was nerve-wracking, because they called the girl next to me first, then the other person to my left, and continued down the line...and they skipped me. And then, they called, ‘from the Guilford Post 7666,’ and they said some random name, as a joke! But then they said, ‘We’re kidding, it’s Nathaniel Kerr,’” recalls Nathan, laughing.
The bit of fun helped break the ice for Nathan, who next found himself at the podium, reading his essay to a packed room.
“He has a really good sense of humor. He’s also very kind and helpful all the time—a real gentleman,” says Addorisio, who also coaches Nathan as part of her ESCA Mock Trial team, and directs him in the school’s theatrical productions (he’s set to perform next in ESCA’s spring production, Newsies).
In his free time, Nathan says he enjoys drawing, playing soccer, and acting. He wants to be an attorney, and it’s safe to say he’s already made a great case for the American flag with his winning essay.
In part, his essay reads: “The American flag represents not only our nation. It represents the people of America, people of different races, religions, and belief systems who came together to live as one. The flag is a humble reminder that we owe this flag our commitment to work together respectfully to provide a fair, free, and just life for all Americans.”
While Nathan is excited about the opportunity for his essay to win at the national level, he says he’s honored just to have seen it come this far. He also says he’s sticking to the same mindset he’s been using since his writing began winning prizes at the local, district, and state levels.
“I just went there thinking it was fun writing it. I was surprised I was making it this far, but I’m not sure I’m going to go any further,” he says.
More to the point, as he notes in his essay, he’s proud of his country, those who serve it, and the American flag.
“I was in cub scouts when I first learned about the flag,” says Nathan, who wrote in his essay, “In scouts, I learned how to carry the flag, how to hold the flag, and how to fold the flag...We were taught to respect the flag because of all it stood for.”