For the Reporter

The White River Museum encourags local high school students to tell their stories.

How does where you live affect where you will go? How are you influenced by your surroundings? What cultures and subcultures shape your life?

These are the questions the museum is asking Auburn-area juniors and seniors with its inaugural My Hometown Writing Contest.

The contest was inspired by the writings of local author and past museum board member Connie Malesis. From a family of Greek immigrants and a beloved member of the Auburn community, Malesis passed away in 2003, but his colorful stories about his hometown of Auburn and its residents remain in his works, “With Tongue in Cheek and Where the Trilliums Bloom.”

It’s in the spirit of Malesis that the first-place winner of the writing contest will receive a $250 cash prize and the first annual “Connie” Award.

The My Hometown Writing Contest was developed in partnership with the Auburn School District and aims to inspire students to reflect on their own history and the relationship between place and person. The contest also seeks to prepare students to begin work on their personal statements for college applications. Students will be judged on creativity, clarity, style and grammar by a panel of Museum staff, community representatives and members of the Malesis family.

The contest is open to all junior and senior students living within the Auburn city limits. All applicants must submit their 500 word or less essay, poem or prose before midnight March 18 on the museum’s website.

For more contest rules and to enter visit wrvmuseum.org.