Education

Historical Society of Watertown Essay Contest Past Winners

2018
First Place: "The Indelible Impression of Samuel Howe on Watertown and the World" by Henry Yusem (Grade 9)
Second Place: "The Charles River" by Irene Kandilas (Grade 9)
Third Place: "Town of Watertown" by Shabnam Begum (Grade 9)

2017
First Place: "The Impacts of Armenian Culture in Watertown" by Anthia Vrahliotis (Grade 9)
Second Place: "Boston Marathon Bombing" by Garo Melkonian (Grade 10)
Third Place: "The Armenian Diaspora in Watertown" by Ruben Karapetyan (Grade 10)

2016 (contest hiatus)

2015
First Place: "Philip Zane Darch: Seaman 1st Class, Selfless Hero" by Cristopher Patvakanian (Grade 11)
Second Place: "The Influence of Benjamin Robbins Curtis" by Ben Lowry (Grade 10)
Third Place: "The Quilt of Watertown: Proud Armenian American" by Michael Guyumdzhyan (Grade 10)
Honorable Mention: "Light Beyond the Darkness" by Lauren Petrillo (Grade 9)

2014
First Place: "America's Arsenal" by Arshdeep Singh (Grade 10)
Second Place: "Perkins School for the Blind" by Janaki Thangaraj (Grade 9)
Third Place: "Watertown and WW2" by Kareem Alhady (Grade 10)

2013
First Place: "Maria White Lowell: Poet, Abolitionist, Role Model" by Cristopher Patvakanian (Grade 9)
Second Place: "Watertown During the American Revolution" by Charlotte Vitti (Grade 10)
Third Place: "Benjamin Robbins Curtis: A Local Foe" by Arshdeep Singh (Grade 9)

2012
First Place: "Armenian Library and Museum of America" by Alice Elbakian (Grade 10)
Second Place: "The Father of Our Town: Sir Richard Saltonstall" by Connor Crowley (Grade 10)
Third Place: "Perkins School for the Blind" by Erin Hickey (Grade 9)

2011
First Place: "Mount Auburn Cemetery and the Making of Beautiful Cities" by Joe Lowry (Grade 10)
Second Place: "Harriet Hosmer" by Casey Halle (Grade 9)
Third Place: "Convers Francis: Watertown’s Own Transcendentalist" by Aaron Siegel (Grade 10)

2010
First Place: "The Charles River" by Brenna McDonald (Grade 9)
Second Place: "Perkins School for the Blind" by Sasha Grodsky (Grade 10)
Third Place: "Watertown During the Revolutionary War" by Joe Lowry (Grade 9)

2009
First Place: "The Charles River: The Heart of Watertown" by Jeffrey Conde (Grade 9)
Second Place: "Theodore Parker" by Jacqueline Tresca (Grade 10)
Third Place: "The Stanley Steamer of Watertown, Massachusetts" by Ben Wetherbee (Grade 9)

2008
First Place: "Theodore Parker" by Tovia Siegel (Grade 9)
Second Place: "Watertown's Bridge" by Bridget O'Reilly (Grade 9)
Third Place: "Mount Auburn Cemetery" by Kiley Alpaugh (Grade 9)

2007
First Place: "Lydia Maria Francis Child" by Clara Gibbons (Grade 9)
Second Place: "Celia Thaxter: Watertown’s Poet" by Andrew Grant (Grade 10)
Third Place: "The History of Perkins School for the Blind" by Daniel White (Grade 9)

2006
First Place: "Aetna Mills" by Gabriela D'Amico (Grade 9)
Second Place: "Mount Auburn Cemetery" by Andrew Grant (Grade 9)
Third Place: "Benjamin Robbins Curtis" by Rachel Pano (Grade 9)

2005
First Place: "Watertown's Veterans of WWII" by Taylor Pelletier
Second Place: "Perkins School for the Blind" by Maggie Migliozzi
Third Place: "The Watertown Arsenal - A Predominant Institution of Research of Military Ordnance" by Ben Leahy