Paso Robles celebrates Martin Luther King Jr. at this year’s annual event.

Sophomore Joe Cantrell took home $75 and a first place win at the annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration on Saturday, Jan. 16 at the Flamson Middle School Auditorium put on by the city council.

Students from PRHS submitted essays and elementary kids from Almond Acres Academy drew artwork for the contest; both were based around the general theme “Together, We Can Make a Difference.”

The first place winner and receiver of $75 was sophomore Joe Cantrell. Although Cantrell says he “did it because it was a good way to get extra credit for English,” he clearly felt passionate about the prompt.

As the winner, Cantrell had to read aloud his essay at the celebration at Flamson and he stated that his “favorite part of the essay was reading it.”

“It was pretty challenging, but I liked it overall, ” Cantrell said.

Senior Nicole Landon took second place and went home with a $50 check.

Sophomore Katherine Schulte surprised herself when she ended up in the top three. 

“I only found out two days before it was due… and it was during tech week so I had rehearsal both nights ‘till 10.” Despite this she ended up placing third overall and won a $25 check.