The question was posed by the Blair County Bar Association, in partnership with the America250 PA Blair Commission, in celebration of both Law Day on Friday and the country’s upcoming 250th birthday.

Students in grades K-5 were invited to submit a poster that showed what America means to them, while those in grades 6-12 were asked to submit an essay on the same topic.

The students and their loved ones were then invited to the Blair County Courthouse for a Law Day ceremony, at which the first-place winners in each grade were presented with a certificate and prize.

To kick off the festivities, Blair County Bar Association President Traci Naugle said they usually used the American Bar Association’s theme each year, but decided to break that tradition to honor the 250th.

America250PA Blair County Commission Chairman A.C. Stickel (left) holds the microphone for sixth grader Violet Krug (center) while she reads her first-place-winning essay on what America means to her as Blair County Bar Association President Traci Naugle (from left), President Judge Wade A. Kagarise and Senior Judge Jolene Grubb Kopriva listen. Mirror photo by Rachel Foor-Musselman

“This year’s theme we went with ‘what does America mean to you?'” Naugle said. “I would ask each of you to really think about that this year.”

St. Patrick Catholic School fifth grader Dominic Passarello, who placed first in his grade’s poster contest, was the first student to tell those in attendance what he thought of his country, enthusiastically saying “oh boy, America means a lot.”

“Its rich history, the declaration — it all started back in 1776,” Passarello said. “It represents freedom, liberty, justice and mostly everything.”

He was followed by fellow St. Patrick attendee Violet Krug, who won first place in the sixth grade essay contest.

Krug read her essay aloud to those present in courtroom two, during which she described America as “a really great country.”

“There are lots of things that people love about it,” Krug said. “I like it because it has so much diversity, freedom and different environments.”

Krug highlighted America’s diversity, saying “diversity is good because you can meet people from different places.”

“You get to learn things from other people’s experiences and tell them about yours,” Krug said. “For example, you can learn about the food that people like to make or the languages that they speak.”

Ninth grader Christian Ruffner, who won first place in his grade’s essay contest, said that he believes America “represents the idea that everyone should have basic rights like the freedom of speech.”

He added that America is “a beacon and protector of democracy and compassion in the world.”

“America is more than just a place on a map,” Ruffner said. “It’s an idea of freedom, opportunity and resilience. It represents the ability to dream, grow and create a better future.”

Eleventh grader Josephine Watt, who won the essay contest’s grand prize, was not able to attend the celebration but had her essay read aloud by Naugle. In it, she wrote that America “meant opportunity and a chance to build something even better than before.”

“Right now, that idea is still being tested because of rapid change and uncertainty,” Watt wrote. “The meaning of America may not always be clear, but it has never been more important throughout history.”

She wrote that people have defined America in different ways.

“Abraham Lincoln saw it as a nation worth preserving, one where unity and freedom had to be protected at all costs,” Watt wrote. “Martin Luther King Jr. believed America was a promise still waiting to be fulfilled, where all people would one day be treated equally. John F. Kennedy encouraged Americans to see their country as a call to service, asking not what America can do for them, but what they can do for America.”

She wrote that these figures viewed America “not as a place, but as a responsibility” and that the country’s meaning “came from the action of people, the courage to stand for what is right and the willingness to serve others.”

“I see America in a similar way,” Watt wrote. “To me, America is not just freedom and opportunity, but what we choose to do with these gifts. It’s the ability to dream, but also the responsibility to turn those dreams into something bigger than ourselves.”

She ended her essay by saying America “is what we choose to make it.”

“I choose to make America a better place, a place people are proud to call home,” Watt wrote.

After listening to the essays, Stickel told the audience that “once you get to a certain age, it’s common to say ‘oh, that younger generation.'”

“Today, I have great hope in the next generation or the next two generations,” Stickel said. “This is the greatest nation ever to exist in the face of the Earth. It’s not always been perfect — it’s never been perfect, but it’s been better than all the rest.”

Additional contest winners are kindergartener Ella Brady, first grader Stella Kopriva, second grader Brayden Tay, third grader Ryleigh Musselman, fourth grader Levi Aungst, seventh grader Larissa Clapper and eighth grader Jackson Garner.

Upcoming events celebrating America’s 250th anniversary can be found on the commission’s website at america250pablair.org.

Mirror Staff Writer Rachel Foor-Musselman is at 814-946-7458.