Fayette County student wins $5,000 grand prize in essay contest

BECKLEY, W.Va. (WVVA) - A student from Fayette County is the winner of an essay contest, and won the $5,000 grand prize during a special recognition ceremony in Charleston. The announcement was made in a press release from the West Virginia State Treasurer’s Office.

Emma Stover, a first grader at New River Primary, was one of 15 regional winners and was randomly selected as the grand prize winner. In her essay, Stover wrote about her dream of becoming a teacher when she grows up.

This is the 17th year for the ‘When I Grow Up’ essay contest, and 3,315 West Virginia students submitted essays this year. Essays from three age groups were judged in each of the five geographic regions. The age groups were Grade K-1, 2-3, and 4-5.

Each regional winner gets $500 to be invested into a SMART529 account, and an additional $4,500 was awarded to Stover for winning the grand prize. The school of each regional winner will also get $500 in cash to support school programs.

Kindergarten through fifth grade teachers also had the chance to compete in the teacher portion of the essay contest. The winning teacher for 2024 received a $2,500 cash prize.

The teacher winner for this year was Mrs. Saida Chaieb, a Kindergarten Teacher at Spring Hill Elementary School in Cabell County.

You can find a full list of the winners below:

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