Brings Students Together with Survivors
WASHINGTON, D.C. – LAWFUEL – Law Firm Newswire – June 2, 2008 – Holland & Knight and the Holland & Knight Charitable Foundation are pleased to announce the 10 first-place winners of the firm’s Holocaust Remembrance Project, an annual national essay contest for high school students designed to encourage and promote the study of the Holocaust. The 10 winning essays for 2008 were chosen from more than 4,400 entries.
The students will spend a life-changing week with 13 Holocaust survivors and educators on an all-expenses paid trip to Washington, D.C. They also will receive scholarships for college at an awards luncheon at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Washington, D.C., on July 17. The event is now in its 14th year.
Holland & Knight is pleased to announce the 2008 national first-place winners:
o Alexa Bryn, a senior at Weinbaum Yeshiva High School in Hollywood, FL
o Edward Chato-Seaton, a senior at Monument Valley High School in Kayenta, AZ
o Eva Dou, a senior at Grosse Pointe South High School in Grosse Pointe, MI
o Benjamin Dye, a senior at The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, CT
o Sepehr Hajiheshmat, a freshman at Arcadia High School in Pasadena, CA
o Whitney May, a junior at Oak Ridge High School in Spring, TX
o Caitlin Oliver, a senior at Sweet Home High School in Amherst, NY
o Rivka Rappoport, a freshman at Teaneck High School in Teaneck, NJ
o Joshua Somach, a sophomore at North Shore Hebrew Academy in Jericho, NY
o Sarah Tryon, a senior at Spring Valley High School in Elgin, SC
“Holland & Knight established this educational program to teach our young people about the dangers of using the law to promote prejudice, discrimination and violence and to learn the valuable lessons the Holocaust taught us,” said Holland & Knight Managing Partner Steve Sonberg. “Our firm believes the legacy of the Holocaust needs to be shared first-hand with today’s youth while survivors are still with us to relate their incredible stories.”
The Holocaust Remembrance Project is an educational program that serves as a living memorial to the millions of victims of the Holocaust. In addition to the prizes awarded to the 10 first-place winners, 10 second-place winners and 10 third-place winners also receive cash prizes, medals and certificates. The 10 first-place winners will visit Washington, D.C., and related memorials and participate in intense seminars and testimony from historians and survivors. Other events include:
Week-Long Immersion with Holocaust Survivors, July 13-18, 2008
The week-long transfer of testimony from old to young takes place from July 13-18. Each day will begin with testimony from a survivor of the Holocaust. The group also will hear from author, lecturer and historian Dr. Michael Berenbaum.
W. Michael Blumenthal, Keynotes Awards Luncheon in Washington, D.C., July 17, 2008
The event culminates on Thursday, July 17, at an Awards Luncheon at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Washington, D.C., including a keynote address by former U.S. Secretary of Treasury and current President of the Jewish Museum in Berlin, W. Michael Blumenthal. Each student will be awarded a scholarship of up to $10,000 at the event hosted by Holland & Knight.
About the Holocaust Remembrance Project: The Holocaust Remembrance Project was instituted by Holland & Knight in 1994 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camps. Since its inception, the Project has awarded more than $750,000 in scholarships, cash and prizes to young writers and acted as a living memorial to the millions of innocent victims of the Holocaust. For more information and to read the winning essays, visit http://holocaust.hklaw.com
About Holland & Knight LLP: Holland & Knight is a global law firm with more than 1,150 lawyers in 17 U.S. offices. Other offices around the world are located in Mexico City and Beijing. Holland & Knight is among the world’s 18 largest firms, providing representation in litigation, business, real estate and governmental law. Our interdisciplinary practice groups and industry-based teams ensure clients have access to attorneys throughout the firm, regardless of location. www.hklaw.com
