A Chartiers Valley Middle School student was recognized for her writing ability.
Saadhana Srinivasan, 14, won the Unsung Community Service Award among youth for her poem, “A Dream Come True,” at The One Music Fest in Bridgeville on Jan. 16.
The poem also won the first annual MLK Poetry Contest at the Bridgeville Public Library.
“I was genuinely surprised and supremely happy with myself,” said Saadhana, an eighth grader.
Saadhana said her favorite part of writing the poem was learning more about Martin Luther King Jr.
“It was also fun trying to make it rhyme while also being inspirational,” she said.
Saadhana said the project was a school assignment. She read some other examples and poems “and decided to make it my own,” she said.
“I hope people are inspired by Martin Luther King to spread kindness wherever they go,” Saadhana said.
Rochelle Territ, a second grade teacher at Chartiers Valley Primary School, won the Unsung Community Service award in the adult division.
In addition to teaching, Territ is the co-author of “Chartiers Valley History for Kids,” a coloring book for children that covers the history of the Chartiers Valley area.
The book is a history primer including local residents, such as Bridgeville Mayor Betty Copeland, historian and author John Oyler; and landmarks like the Heidelberg Raceway and the “Crooked Bridge” in Scott.
Territ is a 1987 graduate of Chartiers Valley.
Previous winners have included Deb Kimbrough, Deb Colosimo, Kirk Anderson, Tim Anderson, Michele Capozzoli-Anderson and Joe Patterson.
