Ánimo Voices

Writing & Art Competition 2020

About the Competition

The Ánimo Voices Writing and Art Competition has become an annual tradition to motivate, recognize, and celebrate Green Dot's strong student voices with exciting prizes, publication, and scholarships. This year’s writing competition and art competition prompts invited our students to write about a time when they, someone they know, or someone they’ve learned about, helped address something wrong in the world.

Every school in our network was invited to select their top two student entries for the first round of prizes. A panel of judges including teachers, literacy specialists, home office volunteers and Green Dot Ambassadors, reviewed the top entries for each school and selected the winners for the first, second, and third place prizes.

All school site winners and Green Dot finalists will be honored at a virtual Ánimo Voices celebration event on June 5th and prizes will be sent to their homes during this time of school closures. Their work will also be compiled in a paperback publication and all participants will receive multiple copies. The prizes, scholarships, and publication were made possible through the vision and generosity of three Green Dot Ambassadors: Dan Keston, together with Rob and Jane Ettinger. We are grateful for their continuing dedication to writing and creative expression at Green Dot schools.

Green Dot Writing and Art Competition 2018

We invite you to read our winning student written and art entries below. Our student entries reflect the rich diversity of perspectives, experiences, and causes that inspire their desires to make a positive change in the world. We also celebrate their teachers who encourage students to develop their unique voices, write authentically for an audience and purpose, and foster their development along the way.

2020 Ánimo Voices Winners

The first, second and third place winners are finalists from schools across Green Dot California.

First Place

Writing: ‘A Story To Be Told’ by Amy Manzo Mendez

Read the script that won first place from all of our California middle schools by Amy Manzo Mendez, a student at Ánimo Florence-Firestone Charter Middle School.

Writing: ‘Antes De Tu Y Yo’ by Yesenia Zamora

Read the poem that won first place from all of our California high schools by Yesenia Zamora, a student at Ánimo South Los Angeles Charter High School

Art: ‘Idiosyncratic’ by Sasha Ramirez

See the art piece that won first place from all of our California high schools by Sasha Ramirez, a student at Ánimo Jackie Robinson Charter High School.

Second Place

Writing: ‘Untitled’ by Fatima Aranda

Read the poem that won second place from all of our California middle schools by Fatima Aranda, a student at Ánimo Legacy Charter Middle School.

Writing: ‘Your Language’ by Maria Jaramillo

Read the writing that won second place from all of our California high school schools by Maria Jaramillo, a student at Alain LeRoy Locke College Preparatory Academy.

Art: ‘My Anchor’ by Kimberly Mejia Vasquez

See the art piece that won second place from all of our California high schools by Kimberly Mejia Vasquez, a student at Ánimo Watts College Preparatory Academy.