State Treasurer Denise Napier announced sixty-three winners of the statewide CHET Dream Big Competition. One winner included Middlefield fifth grader, Liya Simon. Simon was awarded a $1,000 contribution to a CHET college savings account. The other 60 students won a $500 contribution.
The contest asks students what their dreams are about life after college. Students express these dreams through drawings and essays.
"Dream Big emphasizes the importance of saving for college early and gives students a head start in planning for their children’s education,” said State Treasurer Denise L. Nappier, Trustee for the Connecticut Higher Education Trust (CHET).
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Liya Simon wrote an essay about her dream to keep books alive for the next generation. Simon attends Memorial Middle School and was one of six other Middlesex County students who won prizes including:
Sophie Kulas from Brewster Elementary School in Durham, Matthew Lara, Brooke Lloyd and Owen Staskelunas from Haddam Elementary School in Higganum and Shawnayza Mason and Gus Nocera from Macdonough School in Middletown.
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Close to four thousand entries came from 132 of the state’s 169 municipalities. The 63 winners came from 38 different cities and towns across the state.
All the winning students and teachers were recognized at a ceremony at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, with Scot Haney of WFSB-TV Channel 3 as the Master of Ceremonies. Nappier awarded plaques to each student winner.
