STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – North Penn High School Junior Carl Hamilton was named a finalist in the 2016 Penn State Essay Contest for High School Writers.

Every fall, Penn State holds a writing competition where Pennsylvania high school juniors, as identified by their high schools, are given a prompt and instructed to generate a timed response that is judged by Penn State faculty.

“The prompt was to write about an experience that I think high schoolers should be exposed to and I choose to write about the philosophical tradition of the Enlightenment,” explained Hamilton.

Of the over 130 student writers who submitted entries, there were seven winners and thirteen finalists chosen. The awards are given in recognition of excellent student writing and careful thinking.

Hamilton and Advanced Placement English teacher Ellen McKee, a PSU graduate herself, attended the Awards luncheon at the Nittany Lion Inn on April 18th, where Hamilton was awarded a Finalist Certificate from The Penn State University Department of English.

McKee added, “Carl has a wonderful command of language and history. I am proud that my alma mater recognized his unique point of view and writing talent.”