Several students were honored as the Columbus Day Essay Contest winners at the Clark UNICO Italian-American Festival on October 8. Winners included Jionni Jacobs, a fifth grader at Frank K. Hehnly School; Trang Le, a fifth grader at Valley Road School; Luca Fruzzetti, a seventh grader at Carl H. Kumpf Middle School; and Sienna Guarino, a sophomore at Arthur L. Johnson High School.

Jacobs wrote about Frank Sinatra, Le wrote about Christopher Columbus, Fruzzetti wrote about Moreno Fruzzetti, and Guarino wrote about Frank Zappa. Students shared their essays and were presented with certificates as well as gift cards. The contest, sponsored by UNICO, asked students to write an essay about Christopher Columbus or another prominent Italian or Italian-American who has made a worthwhile contribution.