STATE OF CONNECTICUT
NANCY WYMAN COMPTROLLER	OFFICE OF THE STATE COMPTROLLER 55 ELM STREET HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT 06106-1775	MARK OJAKIAN DEPUTY COMPTROLLER

State Comptroller Nancy Wyman today announced the results of her fifth annual Black History Essay Contest.

This event is open to high school juniors and seeks to explore facts about black history that are not well known. It is sponsored by the Office of the State Comptroller with the support of New Alliance Bank, Fleet Bank and People's Bank.

Student winners received U.S. Savings Bonds of between $1,000 and $50.

"I am delighted to honor these talented students whose research is not only educational, but is a tribute to a very important part of American heritage," Wyman said.

• First place recognition is given to Brittaney Obienu, 16, of Central Magnet High School in Bridgeport. Her essay focused on Dr. Patricia E. Bath, a physician and scientist who in 1988 became the first African-American female doctor to earn a patent for a medical invention - a device used to remove cataracts.
• Second place is awarded to Janae Bryant, 16, of Hartford Public High School, who wrote about Onesimus, an African slave who in 1721 changed the practice of medicine in America when he demonstrated an African inoculation process to doctors fighting a deadly smallpox outbreak in Boston.
• Third place goes to Adam Reyes, 17, of Hartford Public High School. Adam's essay was about Rafael Cordero, who opened a school in San Juan, Puerto Rico in the early 1800's for children of African heritage at a time of widespread illiteracy.
• Fourth place is awarded to Doug Hawley, 16, of the Academy of Information Technology in Stamford. Doug's essay focused on Thomas Jennings, a New York-born abolitionist and inventor who used profits from his groundbreaking dry-cleaning technique to buy the freedom of enslaved family members.
• Fifth place recognition goes to Loricha Langley, 16, of Cross Annex High School in New Haven, who wrote about Thomas Mundy Peterson, a New Jersey man who in 1870 became the first African-American to cast a vote.
• Sixth place goes to Vanessa Castillo, 16, of Danbury High School, whose essay was about the role that African-Americans played in the establishment of the American West.

The State Comptroller appreciates input on this and other issues from residents of the state. Please feel free to contact her office by phone - (860) 702-3300; mail - OSC, 55 Elm Street, Hartford, CT 06106; or, via E-mail - osc.opinions@po.state.ct.us

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