FERTILE, Minn.-For Quindelynne Hasler, it's been a school year to remember. The high school junior's entry in the VFW Voice of Democracy essay contest has already won her honors locally, regionally and throughout the state of Minnesota-not to mention more than $2,500 in scholarship money.
But now, with a trip scheduled to Washington, D.C., for a national round of competition for a $30,000 scholarship, the Fertile-Beltrami High School junior's year might get better yet.
"It's going to be amazing," Hasler said of the trip, which is scheduled to run from Feb. 27 to March 2, taking her from the Smithsonian to Arlington National Cemetery to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
In fact, Hasler said, she's heard she might even get a chance to stop by the White House with fellow competitors-something she speaks about with obvious excitement. Despite her enthusiasm, though, she's managed to keep a sense of humor about it. After all, she said, she expects her essay will have been judged by the time she gets there.
"All I have to do is whatever anyone tells me to do," Hasler, 17, said with a laugh. "I'll just have to stand there and eat the food and take pictures. But it's pretty fancy and proper. If I'm nervous for anything, it's for saying something dumb."
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The VFW Voice of Democracy essay contest is a nationwide event that traces its history back to 1947, and gives high school contestants the chance to write on a theme chosen about America-this year's was "My Vision for America."
This fall, Hasler took the class of an English teacher whose students enter the contest every year. She jumped right in, penning an essay that frames the U.S. as a land built on the pursuit of happiness and following dreams.
"We were founded on this idea that all men are created equal, and we are born with the right to pursue happiness," she said of her essay. "And through the history of our nation, we have strayed and drawn closer to that main idea, and as we evolve and grow, it always needs to be the center of our goal-to allow people to pursue their passion."
That essay took second place at the local VFW competition-but then it took first at the district level, and first place for the state of Minnesota, netting Hasler more than $2,500 in scholarship funds along the way.
Wendie Hasler, Quindelynne's mother, said all essays are submitted in audio form-like a speech. She said she knew her daughter's submission was a winner from the first time she heard it.
"Her delivery is just so good, and the content of the speech is very empowering," her mother said.
Besides writing, Quindelynne has her hand in plenty of other activities. She sings, plays baritone saxophone, helps lead worship at Hope Evangelical Free Church in Fertile and has spent time helping out at Camp Shamineau, a Christian retreat near Motley, Minn.
Whether or not she wins the scholarship money, Quindelynne said she's headed to the University of Minnesota Duluth when she graduates, where she wants to study communications. She knows she loves writing, she said, though she's not sure exactly where that will take her-maybe travel journalism, she said.
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For the girl who wrote eloquently about following dreams, Wendie Hasler said writing is one her daughter has had for a long time.
"She's wanted to be a journalist since she was about four years old," she said of her daughter. "She had a little fedora with a little press card and she'd go around interviewing people. She's gifted in a lot of areas."
