Photo by Samantha Davis. (Front row, left to right) Marshall sixth grade students Lolita Smith, Journey Leysen and Jayden Novosad take a picture with Marshall rotary members as they were announced as this year's 4-Way Essay Contest winners.

MARSHALL — The auditorium at Marshall Middle School filled with eager sixth-grade students Friday afternoon to cheer on their peers as the Marshall Rotary Club announced the winners for its annual 4-Way Essay Contest.

“We’re glad to be here today, because the four-way tests you guys did were very awesome,” Rotarian Matt Pedersen said. “We got to read them, and they were all great.”

Being called up individually to receive a certificate and monetary check as the room filled with applause, Journey Leysen won third place, Jayden Novosad was awarded second, and Lolita Smith was announced as the first place winner for this year’s contest.

The essay contest, which takes place every year for sixth grade students, challenges the students to write about various life scenarios that can translate to a deeper meaning.

“Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships? Will it benefit all concerned? That’s the four-way test,” Pedersen said. “In rotary, that’s a big deal. We follow that model all the time, but it’s a model that you can use for a lot of other things besides rotary. It can be used in the decisions that you make in life, in the way you treat people, the way you deal with coworkers, your classmates.”

Smith wrote about her hopes to attend college and help people in need, Novosod wrote about his enjoyment for fishing and how it holds meaning in social collaboration and appreciating wildlife, while Leysen wrote about developing deeper relationships with friends and family while making memories.

Prior to announcing the winners, Pedersen also gave the students a quick background on what rotary club works to do.

“There’s 1.2 million Rotarians throughout the world. We do good things for people locally, regionally and even internationally throughout the whole world,” Pedersen said. “Being a part of the school is one of the highlights for me and I think all of us in the club, to be a part of the local community.”

Pedersen asked the group if they remember receiving dictionaries in the third grade, to which several students raised their hands. The rotary club has given dictionaries to third grade students around the area for several years.

As each winner was announced, fellow classmates filled the theater with excitement in support as they made their way up toward the front of the room. The students were greeted by Pederson, superintendent Jeremy Williams and other members of the rotary club upon receiving their award.

In addition to honoring the top three winners, middle school language arts teachers Nicholas Dunn and Sorcha Vikter also each picked five more essays to recognize 10 more students in their hard work and good writing.

“All of you who wrote for the contest was awesome this year,” Pedersen said. “It was so fun to read.”