USAARL Awards Safety Essay Contest Winners

Posted September 28th, 2016
Story by: Catherine Davis, USAARL Public Affairs Officer

Students from across the Wiregrass were invited to participate in the 2016 safety essay contest hosted by the U.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory, Fort Rucker, Ala.

The contest was open to any student age 8 to 18 years. Students age 8 to 12 years old wrote a one-page essay about “Safety at Home or at School,” and students age 13 to 18 years old wrote a two-page essay about “The Science of Safety.”

Judges from the Fort Rucker Elementary School and U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center chose a winner and runner-up from each category. Essays were scored on creativity, authenticity, grammar, and overall impression. The winner and runner-up in each category received a certificate and a gift card to Steve Spangler Science^©.

The winners and runners-up were:
Corey Vaughn: winner, Safety at Home or at School
Hunter Savell: runner-up, Safety at Home or at School
Maya Harlow: winner, The Science of Safety
Isaiah Henderson: runner-up, The Science of Safety

In her essay, Harlow notes that “Safety is a science in and of itself. The roads are mapped out, the places stop signs are posted, and the speed limits enforced on the roadways are all carefully engineered so that we can quickly get from one place to another in the safest way possible.”

The contest aimed to increase safety awareness and prevention in parents and participants.

Vaughn’s safety at school essay instructs readers to stay safe in the science lab by listening to the teacher. He writes, “The teacher will tell you what to do and how to do it safely. If you aren’t paying attention to what the teacher is saying you can end up hurting someone or yourself by using the wrong chemical or doing the experiment the wrong way.”

“Safety is very important...and if you’re not being safe about things, you never know what’s going to happen,” said Savell. “You have to make the right decisions.”

Henderson simply wrote, “Be aware of the risks and hazards involved in any experiment. Be smart and be responsible when doing an experiment.”

“Safety promotion is one of the five core functions of the Army safety program, and awareness activities like these help keep safety and accident prevention in the forethought of target demographics and hopefully contribute to accident prevention,” said Tom Franz, USAARL safety officer. “We hope that this contest is the first of many.”

USAARL has received many safety awards such as the Director of Army Safety Risk Management Award, the Army Safety Excellence Streamer, and three Department of Army Accident Prevention Awards of Accomplishment in Safety.

back to top