Malden student takes third in VFW national competition

Wierzbowski receives the third place, $15,000 scholarship prize

  The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) has announced that Gina Wierzbowski, a senior at Mystic Valley Regional Charter School in Malden, Mass., has been named third place national winner and recipient of the $15,000 VFW Scholarship award in its 2022-2023 Voice of Democracy scholarship program. The announcement was made during this week’s Parade of Winners ceremony at the 2023 VFW Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C. VFW Post 620, which is located in Stoneham, Mass., sponsored Gina.

  Open to eligible high school students in ninth through 12th grades, the VFW’s annual Voice of Democracy audio-essay contest requires entrants to write and record a three- to five-minute script on a democratic, patriotic theme. This year nearly 23,500 high school students from around the world reflected on the theme “Why is the Veteran Important?” with national finalists competing for their share of $171,000 in scholarships and awards. Learn more about the Voice of Democracy program at https://www.vfw.org/VOD