NJTL Essay Contest winners announced

The USTA Foundation announced the winners of the 22^nd USTA Foundation NJTL Essay Contest presented by Deloitte. Among the 10 national winners was USTA Southern’s Jamiya Ivory, of Gardendale, Ala.

Additionally, United States Tennis Association (USTA) Southern announced the selection of nine National Junior Tennis & Learning chapter players as state winners of the contest today.

There were 1,200 entries nationwide and Ivory won the national Girls’ 17/18 age group. Ivory and her mother enjoyed a trip to New York City with a weekend of activities including a visit to Arthur Ashe Stadium. The state winners will receive an all-expense paid trip to Atlanta in January and be recognized during the 2023 USTA Southern Annual Meeting in January. Their winning essays were selected out of nearly 150 entries from 20 chapters in nine Southern states. 

Here are the names, hometowns and NJTL chapters of the award winners: Jamiya Ivory; Gardendale, Ala; James Lewis Education & Tennis Foundation; Midhun Sadanand; Birmingham, Ala.; James Lewis Education & Tennis Foundation; Kristofer Glason; Little Rock, Ark.; Boys & Girls Club of Central Arkansas; MaKayla Williams; Byron, Ga.; South Clayton CTA NJTL; Catherin Shaju; Louisville, Ky.; Rising Stars of Kentucky; Peter Simeonov; New Orleans; A's and Aces; Alexandria Magee; Columbus, Miss.; Golden Triangle Tennis; Sukie Wang; Greensboro, N.C.; Greensboro Tennis Program; Sanoe Lester; St. George, S.C.; St. George Youth Sports League; Ariah Shelton; Memphis, Tenn.; Tennis Memphis.

The question for the 2022 National Essay Contest: "Mayor David Dinkins was convinced that tennis instills confidence, character, sportsmanship and teamwork. He envisioned the sport as a vehicle to drive you closer to your dreams. Do you agree that tennis develops these positive qualities? Are there other skills or positive aspects gained from playing tennis? What are your dreams? How can tennis help you achieve those dreams and develop meaningful relationships?"

Julian Simeonov, who is the father of Peter Simeonov, of New Orleans, stated, “I felt thrilled and very proud when I learned that my son, Peter, won the NJTL essay contest and will represent the state of Louisiana. Peter put a lot of thought and care writing the essay, and it is great to see that he understands the many life skills that tennis can teach you.”

“The National Essay Contest is one of the annual highlights for NJTL chapters. We want all youth to experience that trip to NY, but even if they do not win the national contest, they still have the opportunity to win on the state level in our section,” said USTA Southern Director, Diversity, NJTL & Grants Cee Jai Jones. “The National Essay Contest reminds us of the impact that Arthur Ashe made on youth when he founded NJTL- he saw the potential that education and tennis can have on their lives and so do we.”