Yesterday, the winners of the 2015 Youth Tour Essay Contest for Pedernales Electric Cooperative (PEC) were announced. Over 450 entries were submitted to the contest, but four Leander students stood out from the crowd and finished first in the contest and have won an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C.

The contest winners are: juniors Matthew and Nathan Archibald, junior Danielle Snow, and junior McKelle Winsor.

“I was really excited, I wasn’t expecting it at all, so it really surprised me,” said Winsor.

They will leave on their trip to Washington, D.C. in the summer.

“I was sitting down in the kitchen doing my homework when I got a phone call and I was shocked, I didn’t think I was going to make it, I thought it was just for school,” said Snow.

Around mid-November they will be honored at a reception at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin.

“Yeah a little [nervous], but I’ll be there with friends, because three other people made it from this school so that’s better,” said Snow.

Most received their calls last week on both the weekend and during the week.

“I was sitting down in the kitchen doing my homework when I got a phone call and I was shocked, I didn’t think I was going to make it, I thought it was just for school,” said Snow.

Each student won the contest because of their ideas for their essay and how it can further help the community, district, or school.

“My essay was about a beautification club to help clean up the community and it was based on the broken windows theory which basically suggest that if something looks bad then people will disrespect it even more, so if you clean it up it’ll get rid of crime in the area,” said Snow. “My dad actually [inspired me] because he was a cop and he worked with the broken windows theory and that’s how I came up with the idea”.

All focus on different topics and solutions that will help the community.

“So it’s called Shrinking America and it’s like a health club and basically it’s like working out, learning how to live a healthy lifestyle, and player group competitive games,” said Winsor. ““I’ve always been big on being healthy and living healthy especially because so many people have problems with it, I know people in my family have had problems with their health, so just growing up I’ve always been determined to stay healthy and fit”.