The winners of the local “Celebrate America” Creative Writing Contest, Sammi Hanlon and Grace Smith from Oak Ridge School in East Sandwich and Calista Salpoglou from Mt. Alvernia Academy in Chestnut Hill , have earned recognition for their essays celebrating America’s tradition of welcoming immigrants by the hosting of the New England Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA).

The winning essays were selected from 33 entries submitted by fifth grade students from throughout New England. The “Celebrate America” Creative Writing Contest, which is made possible by the generous support of the Murthy NAYAK Foundation, was locally coordinated by the New England AILA chapter to help spread a positive message about the benefits of immigration to America. The local sponsors are the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities; Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, LLP; Seyfarth Shaw LLP; Mintz; WR Immigration; Titcomb’s Bookshop; Friends of Sandwich Public Library; The Law Office of Adrienne J. Vaughan; The Law Office of Carmen V. Codjoe; Araujo & Fisher, LLC; Cambridge Immigration Law, P.C.; and Muslu Law Firm.

The winners were selected by a panel of judges from the community: state Senator Eric Lesser, state Senator Julian Cyr, and Erik Jacobs.