May Overby Elementary fifth grader Kalista Aadland has won first place for all of South Dakota in the statewide Retired School Personnel Grandparent Essay Contest.
Aadland is the first student from Aberdeen to win first place at the state level of the competition. More than 1,000 students statewide wrote essays, and the first-place winners from each district were sent to the state. AARP did the final judging of the top three.
Aadland received her award this week at the SDRSPG Convention in Pierre. Aberdeen School Board member Dr. Gayle Bortnem was one of three local Retired School Personnel members in attendance to recognize Aadland at the convention.
This week, Bortnem also handed out awards to local winners. At the local level, Aadland also won first place. Winning second place at the local level was Quinn Evans, a fifth grader at Mike Miller Elementary. Third place went to Violet Rosenau, a fifth grader at C.C. Lee.
