L to R: First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker; TEAM Westport chair Harold Bailey; 2024 essay contest winners Teya Ozgen, Sophia Lopez, and Olivia Morgeson; Staples High School Principal Stafford Thomas; Westport Library Executive Director Bill Harmer
TEAM Westport, the Town of Westport’s diversity engagement committee, has announced that “Identity” will be the challenge topic for its 2025 Teen Diversity Essay Contest.
The contest is open to students attending both public and private high school (Grades 9-12) in Westport. Those who live in Westport and attend public or private high school elsewhere are also invited to participate.
This year’s essay prompt is as follows:
TEAM Westport is dedicated to addressing issues of bias and discrimination related to race, religion, ethnicity, and LGBTQIA+ identity that negatively impact our town’s goal of being a welcoming community for all who live and work here. The recent introduction of the Anti-Defamation League's "No Place for Hate" initiative in Westport's schools strives to create an environment where all students feel they belong and are free from bias, bullying, or hatred.
In our community, each person's unique identity — shaped by their race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and other aspects of who they are — contributes to the character of Westport. In 1,000 words or less, we invite you to reflect on how your own identity shapes your perspective and the experiences you have in Westport. Please address the following considerations in your response:
The entry deadline for the essay contest is 11:59 pm on Monday, March 10.
The Westport Library is co-sponsoring the event and will host the winners for a special ceremony to be held Monday, April 28, at the Library.
The prompt and contest entry rules are available online at teamwestport.org.
Subject to the volume and caliber of entries received, at the discretion of the judges, up to three cash prizes will be awarded. The first prize is $1,000, second prize is $750, and third prize is $500.
“Our community conversation to uncover ways to ensure that there is ‘No Place for Hate’ is ongoing,” said TEAM Westport Chair Harold Bailey Jr. “As such, as we begin the launch our 12th year of the Essay Contest, nothing could be more current than the issue of personal identity. Through this 2025 discussion, we invite our young people to share their experiences around identity to help shape a world in which everyone belongs with mutual respect.”
Said First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker, “This community encourages constructive, respectful dialogue. As representatives of our talented and thoughtful population, the youth of Westport can be instrumental in sharing diverse ideas that ensure that everyone who lives, works, plays, and learns here feels welcomed and valued.”
The essay contest is now in its 12th year. Prior challenges have tackled topics from white privilege and Black Lives Matter to micro-aggressions and dialogue and have drawn widespread attention and engagement in Westport and beyond.
“We’re honored to co-sponsor and host the 2025 TEAM Westport Diversity Essay Contest,” said Westport Library Executive Director Bill Harmer. “One of our goals as a Library is to foster inclusivity, understanding, and belonging, and to provide the tools for students learn and thrive. Personal identity is achieved through exploration and conversation, a product of introspection and community engagement — all core to the mission of the Library and representative of the remarkable students Westport engages. We can’t wait to read their essays and to host the finalists, their families, friends, and the Westport community here on April 28.”
