Madison Student Recognized at 11th Annual eesmarts(TM) Student Contest at State Capitol

Keelin Virgulto, a sixth-grader at Madison’s Dr. Robert H. Brown Middle School, was honored last week as a finalist at the eleventh annual eesmarts™ Student Contest ceremony held at the State Capitol.

Presented by Energize Connecticut in partnership with Eversource and the United Illuminating Company (UI), theeesmarts Student Contest invites Connecticut students in grades K-12 to create projects about energy efficiency, renewable energy, and sustainability.

Students in grades K-8 submitted a poster (Grades K-2), narrative (Grade 3), news article (Grade 4), book review (Grade 5), essay (Grade 6), speech (Grade 7), or public service announcement (Grade 8) on a variety of energy efficiency and renewable topics. High school students-designed a community-based project to solve an energy-related issue in their city or town. More than 700 entries were received for this year’s contest.

Keelin’s project was awarded 1st place in the Grade 6 category. Keelin wrote a persuasive essay to her family about adopting a Family Energy Constitution to save energy in their home. Keelin received a $400 Amazon gift card and plaque commemorating her achievement in this category.

The eesmarts Student Contest ceremony attracted more than 150 students, parents, teachers, elected officials, and clean energy supporters from across the state in celebration of the students’ hard work. Governor Dannel Malloy was the keynote speaker for the event, and NBC Connecticut anchor and education reporter Todd Piro served as Master of Ceremonies.

For more information on the student contest and the eesmarts program, please visit www.eesmarts.com.