DARE Poster, Essay Winners Highlight Lessons In Leadership In Brick

BRICK, NJ — Lessons in leadership, courage and making responsible choices were on display Tuesday when Brick Township officials honored fifth graders who won the 2024-25 school year's D.A.R.E. essay and poster contests.

The D.A.R.E. program, operated by the Community Policing Unit of the Brick Township Police Department, has been in Brick Township's schools for decades. The national program was founded in 1983, during the Reagan administration's focus on "just say no to drugs".

That isn't the only message delivered in 2025, said Police Officer Terrence Berkeley, who along with Officer Victoria Finelli, teaches the program to fifth graders in the Brick Township School District and at St. Dominic School.

"DARE programs have seen big changes in the past few years," Berkeley said Tuesday night at the Brick Township Council meeting. "Now we're crafting leadership, strong communication skills and everyday life skills."

For 10 weeks, the two go into the fifth grade classrooms and make connections with the students, building relationships while also emphasizing positive actions.

Berkeley praised the students, saying their posters and essays showed they had truly understood the lessons being taught, "how we promote courage and responsibility, that you guys have the power to make your own choices."

He also acknowledged the parents and guardians for their work in raising their children.

"They are so much more advanced in fifth grade than we were," Berkeley said.

Berkeley and Finelli also thanked township officials and Police Chief David Forrester for their support of the program.

"Your commitment to the youth of our community is deeply, deeply appreciated not only by our unit but by our students," Berkeley said. "Together we are truly building something meaningful here."

Here are the students who were honored:

Emma Havens Young Elementary

• Poster: Julian Scannel
• Essay: Benjamin Lewis

Osbornville Elementary

• Poster: Samantha Sroka
• Essay: Grant Duncan

Drum Point Elementary

• Poster: Sara Guevara
• Essay: Emma Murphy

• Poster: Lily Schaeffer
• Essay: Mia Rossi

Veterans Memorial Elementary

• Poster: Nitara Hoepelman
• Essay: Blayke Maggio

Midstreams Elementary

• Poster: Lily Gibboni
• Essay: Lily Bicking

St. Dominic

• Poster: Fallon Stohrer-Grimes
• Essay: Natalie Valentin