Parkway Central Student's Barrier-Breaking Essay Wins National Contest

Central High’s Jennifer Wayland received a special visit last Wednesday when Jackie Robinson’s daughter, Sharon Robinson, visited her English class to honor her for being the grand prize winner a national essay contest.

The “Breaking Barriers: In Sports, In Life” essay contest was sponsored by Scholastic Books/Major League Baseball.  Students were asked to write an essay about a barrier they faced and how they used Jackie Robinson's values to face this barrier.

In Wayland’s case, she shared her personal story about her struggles with her body image and how she broke down a barrier that had kept her feeling trapped.

For her efforts, Wayland won a trip for two to a 2013 MLB World Series game; a laptop computer and a laptop for her teacher; a class visit from Sharon Robinson; one Jackie Robinson book set for the class; and one class set of Breaking Barriers T-shirts. In addition, each student in the class will receive an autographed copy of “Jackie Robinson: American Hero.”

Over 18,700 students from around the country entered the contest. Wayland’s complete essay, entitled “Just a Number,” can be viewed in the PDF attached to this article.