Go For Broke National Education Center (GFBNEC) today announced its annual student contest that focuses on the relevance and impact of the Japanese American World War II veterans. The contest is open to high school students (Grades 9-12) and undergraduate and graduate college students.
Cash prizes totaling $7,000 will be awarded to the top 12 winners. The first-place student in each category will receive $1,000 in addition to two complimentary tickets to attend GFBNEC’s 30th Anniversary Gala/Evening of Aloha Dinner on October 12, 2019, at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites in downtown Los Angeles.
Students may write an essay or poem on one of three topics:
- The Japanese American WWII veteran experience is still relevant to our society today. Explore one of the ways this is true.
- How will you carry on the legacy of the Japanese American WWII veterans?
- This year is the 75th anniversary of the Korematsu v. United States and Ex Parte Endo cases where the courts upheld the constitutionality of Executive Order 9066. Analyze what the Japanese American WWII experience can teach us about the Constitution, rights and responsibilities.
All submissions are due by Sunday, June 30, 2019. Essays and poems must be emailed to studentcontest@goforbroke.org. Essays should be from 250 to 500 words in length, and poems should not be longer than three typed pages. All entries must be original compositions. A panel of educators has been selected to serve as judges. The winning entries will be presented in a booklet at the Evening of Aloha Gala Dinner, as well as available on GFBNEC’s website, www.goforbroke.org.
This is the seventh year that GFBNEC has encouraged young people to explore their relationship to the Japanese American veteran story. Last year, GFBNEC received entries from approximately 45 high schools, and 24 universities from all over the country. Deadline for submission is June 30, 2019; winners will be notified by August 9, 2019. College and high school students are urged to submit their essays and poems to studentcontest@goforbroke.org. For more information, visit www.goforbroke.org.
Note to Media: “Go For Broke” was the motto of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, a segregated Army unit composed of Japanese Americans from Hawaii and the mainland. The term was Hawaiian slang for “shooting the works,” or risking everything for the big win in gambling-as the Nisei soldiers did while fighting in the field in WWII and facing prejudice at home in the U.S.
About Go For Broke National Education Center
Go For Broke National Education Center (GFBNEC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that educates the public on the valor of Japanese American veterans of World War II and their contributions to democracy. Our goal is to inspire new generations to embody the Nisei veterans’ core values of courage, sacrifice, equality, humility and patriotism. Founded in 1989, GFBNEC maintains the Go For Broke Monument and the interactive “GFBNEC’s Defining Courage Exhibition” in downtown Los Angeles, as well as extensive oral histories and archives, education and training programs, and other initiatives. For more information, please visit www.goforbroke.org.
Media Contact:
Pauline Yoshihashi
Strategic Communications
For GFBNEC
323-683-8191 Direct
pyoshihashi@earthlink.net