Sunburst Youth Challenge Academy cadets recognized in Memorial Day essay contest
Students take second and third place in countywide writing competition
by Vicky Nguyen
Orange County Department of Education
May 26, 2022
COSTA MESA, Calif. – Students in Sunburst Youth Challenge Academy's Class 29 earned second and third place honors in the eighth annual Jack R. Hammett Memorial Day Essay Contest, organized by the Orange County Board of Education.
Winners were announced during a board meeting May 4.
The Jack R. Hammett Memorial Day Essay Contest is named in honor of Jack R. Hammett, a Pearl Harbor survivor who, following his retirement as a warrant officer in the U.S. Navy, spent more than 50 years serving the City of Costa Mesa in government and civic affairs roles. Traditionally open to students enrolled in Orange County Department of Education’s (OCDE) alternative education program, or ACCESS, the contest was expanded this year to include students from the department’s Special Education program.
In all, ACCESS students produced 36 submissions. Sixteen additional entries — either written or illustrated — were submitted by students in grades nine through 12 or from the Adult Transition Program in OCDE’s Special Education division, which serves students with the most significant disabilities.
Nazim Abellali, a cadet enrolled in the Sunburst Youth Challenge Academy, was awarded second-place and a $250 prize for his submission on the great depth of gratitude his family has for the United States and the generations of people who have risked and given their lives for freedom.
“My parents hail from Algeria, a state of authoritarian oppression,” Abellali shared. “The United States harbored the nobility of opportunity. It provided a relief for my parents and a home for their family.”
Sunburst Youth Academy is a high school credit recovery program operated by the California National Guard in partnership with OCDE. Sunburst cadets spend more than five months in a military-style environment that helps them develop leadership, pride and confidence as they earn high school credits. Abellali’s teacher is Jacqueline Cerbin.
Third place was awarded to fellow Sunburst Cadet Destiny Campos, who received $150 for her essay on how the holiday serves as a day to honor the nation’s heroes. She also wrote about her own personal hero, her uncle, who served for the country and was killed 11 years ago in the Syrian conflict.
Campos wrote that she hopes to follow in her uncle’s footsteps by enlisting in the U.S. Army or the Marines.
Also in attendance were members from the Freedom Committee of Orange County, an organization of veterans located in Costa Mesa. The veterans bring “living history” into local classrooms by sharing personal stories about serving in wars and how their experiences shaped them. This allows students to meet people who were part of shaping the history that they often read in books.
“We have served our country, but at the same time we believe there has to be a connection to the past because otherwise we don’t have a country,” shared veteran John “Scott” Williams.
OCDE’s ACCESS program — the acronym stands for Alternative, Community and Correctional Education Schools and Services — is a nationally-recognized alternative education system that offers transformative learning experiences and support to students across Orange County. It serves more than 10,000 students a year, including young people who have encountered significant academic and social obstacles, as well as students who thrive in non-traditional settings.
The Orange County Board of Education is made up of five elected officials who each serve four-year terms. The board’s responsibilities include approving OCDE’s budget, signing off on the purchase of property for department programs, and ruling on expulsion appeals, interdistrict attendance appeals and charter school appeals.