Aguilar essay lands entire family a free trip to D.C.

The Aguilar Family from Rio Rancho in D.C.

From the Rio Rancho Observer - by BY GARY HERRON - Can there be a greater trip for a high school student than a free one to Washington, D.C.? Yeah, maybe, but the June jaunt to the nation’s capital was just right for the Aguilar family of Rio Rancho. Under the spires of the Air Force Memorial in Arlington, Va., Rand McNally recently awarded two grand prize winners from among 12,000 essays submitted in the “America the Beautiful” short essay contest. Although Celina Aguilar’s entry wasn’t a grand prize winner, her family enjoyed the bounty of her essay – that trip to D.C. Celina, ranked third in her Cleveland High School Class of 2013, said she’s always been a pretty good essay writer, which is what the winners were based upon. Jennifer Aguilar said her daughter has a great sense of humor in addition to her writing skills and that she plays cello in the CHS orchestra, or “Dork-estra,” as Celina joked. Launched in March, “America the Beautiful” asked this simple essay question: “What’s the one place in the U.S. that truly inspires you?” Subjects ranged from hometowns to the special memories about places visited, to meaningful landmarks. Aguilar wrote about Corrales, where she spent her early years — all of her grandparents live in the village — and its wildlife, beauty and family memories. Celina Aguilar, busy with calculus and psychology classes at CNM this summer, said she plans to be a pharmacist someday. Read more

Aguilar essay lands entire family a free trip to D.C.