Ward Melville High School students Shannon Berry and Odeya Rosenband were named the first and second place winners, respectively, in the Suffolk County Asian American Advisory Board Wellbrook Foundation and JEI Learning Center of Stony Brook’s 2017 Social Harmony Writing Contest.

The main purpose of the contest was for students to come up with ideas on how to promote cultural understanding and social harmony. They were encouraged to participate in the contest by writing an essay that explains what can be done to improve race and ethnic relations. Students used personal experience, observation, current events, history and literature to support their ideas.