Rachel Zimmerman, a senior at Mount St. Mary Academy from Immaculate Heart of Mary in North Little Rock (Marche), was named the winner of Arkansas Catholic’s Young Faith Essay Contest May 10 during the Catholic Youth Ministry Convention in Little Rock.
Editor Malea Hargett presented Zimmerman a 64 GB iPad for her winning essay, reflecting on Jeremiah 1:7.
The Scripture says, “But the Lord answered me, Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ To whomever I send you, you shall go; whatever I command you, you shall speak.”
Zimmerman wrote, “Jeremiah 1:7 is not only a challenge, it is encouragement. I can do great things with childlike faith. I can believe in mysteries of faith, I can trust fully in God with no fear, and I can be open and honest with God, others and myself. If there is one thing I have learned, it is that no one is too young to have a beautiful, unique Catholic identity and no one is too young to let their light shine through.”
Arkansas Catholic and its co-sponsors hosted an essay contest during the Year of Faith for high school juniors and seniors who attend a Catholic church in the Diocese of Little Rock.
Other finalists were also recognized:
- Alexa Gates, a senior at Mills University Studies High School in Little Rock and member of St. Jude Church in Jacksonville.
- Laurie Nick, a junior at Mount St. Mary Academy in Little Rock and member of Christ the King Church in Little Rock.
- Katherine Penney, a junior at Mount St. Mary Academy and member of Christ the King Church in Little Rock.
- Taylor Wilkerson, a junior at Central High School in Little Rock and member of St. Jude Church in Jacksonville.
Each essay reflected on how the passage from Jeremiah challenged or encouraged them and was published in Arkansas Catholic in February, March and April. A panel of diocesan employees judged the essays, and Facebook fan votes were taken into consideration for the final decision.
Zimmerman and each finalist also received a soft-cover Little Rock Catholic Study Bible.
Click here to read the winning essay and all the finalists’ essays.
