Conant student advances to state for VFW contest
Conant High School social studies teacher Frank Kernats has helped with the Veterans of Foreign Wars Voice of Democracy Contest since the 1986-87 school year, but he has never seen one of his students advance to the state round.
“We’ve been kind of knocking on the door for a while,” he said. “I’ve been doing this for 26 years and my kids never win.”
But senior Athena Saldanha, who was coached by Kernats when she was part of the school’s congressional debate club, brought Conant the win Kernats has hoped for all these years.
Saldanha will be in Springfield Saturday, where her videotaped speech answering the question, “Is there pride in serving in our military?” will be judged against responses from 18 other Illinois students.
The first-place winner will receive $1,000 and a paid trip to Washington, D.C., in March to compete with students from other states for a $30,000 scholarship.
Kernats isn’t allowed to talk about the content of Saldanha’s speech until after the contest is over, but he said it is “very heartwarming and touching.”
“It wouldn’t surprise me at all if she won this,” he said. “She’s very intelligent, she’s very skilled.”
Saldanha placed first in the beginning round of the contest through Schaumburg VFW Post 2202, advancing her to the district level.
Kernats said annually about 40 students from his U.S. history classes, the school’s political club and the congressional debate club submit entries to local posts and usually there are winners from Conant.
But Saldanha’s first place win for the Illinois VFW’s fourth district is a milestone. Along with the all-expense paid trip to Springfield, Saldanha received $500.
Besides the announcement of who will advance to the national round, the district winners also get a tour of the war memorials in the state’s capital this weekend.
Kernats is confident Saldanha has a chance to win more, including the national title.
“She’s very well-trained in speaking skills,” he said. “She has a really nice voice, a really nice presentation. It all depends on the judges.”