SAUGUS — A group of fourth grade students at the Belmonte STEAM Academy were recognized by Gov. Maura Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll for participating in their portrait essay contest.
The contest asked students to write an essay about a previous governor who inspired them and pitch Healey on which governor’s portrait past should hang in her office. It’s tradition that each new governor and lieutenant governor select a portrait of a former governor to hang in their office at the State House. Gov. Charlie Baker chose a portrait of Gov. John Volpe, who served as secretary of transportation under President Richard Nixon. Gov. Deval Patrick chose Gov. John Albion Andrew, a prominent leader in the abolitionist movement.
In all, eight students in Brigitte Vaudo’s fourth grade class completed the essay contest, and earned a shoutout from the governor herself on Twitter. The students — Aarav Saini, Talia Frasca, Giuliana Menendez-Rosa, Jake Stuppia, Paisleigh Rogers, Matthew Casoli, Judah Bida, and Mellany Cruz — also received letters signed by Healey and Driscoll, as well as signed headshots of both women.
Vaudo said she decided to bring the contest to her class to both aid students’ writing skills and further their interest in government, which she said was sparked by the Edward M. Kennedy Institute’s future senator program. From there, Vaudo sought to find a way to keep students engaged in learning about government, and Healey’s portrait essay contest proved to be the perfect opportunity.
“This essay writing gave the students an opportunity to connect our classroom learning with the local community and provided a real-world audience,” she said. “The coolest part [for the students] was knowing that it wasn’t just me reading [their] work, it was somebody great like the governor.”
Each student selected a different governor — with Endicott Peabody, Jane Swift, John Hancock, Patrick, and Baker among the selections made by students. Students were responsible for researching governors and selecting one who they felt a connection with.
Not all students in Vaudo’s class completed the assignment by the governor’s Feb. 10 deadline, but those who did said it was “super awesome” to be recognized by the state’s chief executive.
Vaudo said she hoped the project might spark a new generation of Massachusetts leaders.
“My goal is that students can understand characteristics of what makes a great leader and then are inspired to use their own voices to become great future leaders,” she said.
Students’ reasons for selecting the governors they did varied. Rogers said she selected Patrick because of his work on issues like racial profiling. Other students said they admired the military service of several former governors.
The project seemed to be a resounding success with the students, who said they enjoyed researching the state’s history.
