Kristin Lyons of  Elizabethton has been named the first place winner of the 31st annual Xi State High School Essay Contest. She received a $300 cash prize and will be recognized at a dinner in May sponsored by Alpha Alpha Chapter in Bristol.  Lyons is the daughter of Rebecca Lyons and Michael Lyons and is an 11th grade student at Happy Valley High School.

Also submitting entries from Happy Valley High School were Amanda Howland, Logan Sherman-McCoy, and Tristan Morley. Their English instructor is Jessica Keith.

This year’s essay topic began with a quote credited to Mahatma Gandhi: “You can’t change how people treat you or what they say about you. All you can do is change how you react to it.” Students analyzed how the power of words have a positive or negative effect on people and situations.

Other winners this year include: Rachel Baker, Camden High School, second place; Katerina Johnson, Sullivan South High School, third place; and Taylor Whitson, Meigs County High School, fourth place.

Xi State, the Tennessee organization of The Delta Kappa Gamma International Society of Key Women Educators (DKG), sponsors the high school essay contest every spring. Any 9th – 12th grade student in Tennessee may write an essay, with a limit of four entries per high school. XI State focuses on literacy projects that promote high quality educational opportunities for all students in Tennessee. Other projects include supporting the Governor’s Books From Birth Foundation and local Imagination Library projects.

With more than 70,000 members in 18 countries worldwide, DKG promotes professional and personal growth of women educators and excellence in education through training and leadership opportunities, scholarships, and digital connectivity to impact education and society around the world.  For more information, visit www.dkg.org. For membership detail, email mem@dkg.org.