2022 Wisconsin Civics Games Contest Winners

The WNA Foundation is excited to announce the winners of the 2022 Wisconsin Civics Games Editorial Writing & Cartoon Contest.

Returning for a second year after the COVID-19 pandemic brought some in-person events to a halt, the contest asks students to convey their opinion about an issue related to the First Amendment through editorial writing or an editorial cartoon.

Twelve students received cash awards, certificates and the opportunity to be published by newspapers across the state. They are:

Writing Contest

High School
1st Place – Abby Isermann, Iola-Scandinavia High School
2nd Place – Annalee Mize, Gibraltar High School
3rd Place – Ellen Zhang, Green Bay Southwest High School
Honorable Mention – Jonah Vircks, Loyal High School

Middle School
1st Place – Kenyon Hill, St. Joseph Catholic Academy, Pleasant Prairie
2nd Place – Ella Stahmann, J. R. Gerrits Middle School, Appleton
3rd Place – Lucy Eltoft, Lance Middle School, Pleasant Prairie

Cartoon Contest

High School
1st Place – Cam Nelson, Marshfield High School
2nd Place – Haylie Dumoulin, Ashwaubenon High School
3rd Place – Alexa Roe, River Ridge High School, Patch Grove
Honorable Mention – Lyra Keegan, West Bend East High School

Middle School
1st Place – Milo Dale, Washburn Middle School

See the winning entries below.

Editorial Cartoon Contest (High School)

Editorial Cartoon Contest (Middle School)

Editorial Writing Contest (High School)

First Place

First Amendment vital to preventing abuses of power

Abby Isermann, a junior at Iola-Scandinavia High School, highlights moments in history shaped by the First Amendment.

Abby Isermann

Second Place

We must protect five freedoms for future generations

We owe it to future generations to protection the freedoms provided by the First Amendment, writes Gibraltar High School senior Annalee Mize.

Annalee Mize

Third Place

Healthy discourse relies on widespread agreement of shared facts

Without agreement, society turns dysfunctional, writes Ellen Zhang, a junior at Green Bay Southwest High School.

Ellen Zhang

Honorable Mention

Americans’ right to assembly has allowed us to thrive

Jonah Vircks, a freshman at Loyal High School, makes a case for why the right to assembly is one of our most important important freedoms.

Jonah Vircks

Editorial Writing Contest (Middle School)

First Place

First Amendment grants freedom to all Americans

Kenyon Hill, a seventh grader at St. Joseph Catholic Academy in Pleasant Prairie, reflects on the freedoms afforded by the First Amendment.

Kenyon Hill

Second Place

First Amendment protects basic freedoms

Americans should appreciate the amendments in the U.S. Constitution and the rights they protect, writes eighth grader Ella Stahmann.

Ella Stahmann

Third Place

Why does the First Amendment still fail to protect religious minorities?

Lucy Elthoft, a seventh grader at Lance Middle School, questions whether the First Amendment does enough to protect religious minorities.

Lucy Eltoft

Newspaper Coverage

Haylie Dumoulin

Ashwaubenon High School