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2008-2009 Honorable Mention Winner – Andrew Franklin (Glenelg Country School) Andrew Franklin is a 16-year-old, 11th grade student at the Congressional Page School here in Washington DC. This semester he has been working for the 111th Congress as a page in the United States House of Representatives Page Program. Upon returning to Glenelg Country School for the spring semester, he will fulfill his duties as Treasurer of the Student Council, President of the Community Service Club, and President of the Mock Trial Team. He participated in last year’s musical, “Into the Woods,” and plans to participate in this year’s production of “Urinetown.” Andrew is also a member of the men’s choral ensemble. He enjoys playing baseball for the high school varsity team, as well as outside of school for the Howard County Raiders metro team. He would like to especially thank Mr. David Weeks and Ms. Marianne T. Green for their unabated support and guidance in his enterprises. And lastly, he would like to thank his family for being the foundation and inspiration for his success in every endeavor. Essay Abstract ("A Sacred Trust"): “The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it” (Psalm 24). Among the Abrahamic faiths God’s presence in nature is considered absolute. In regarding nature, there is a universal set of values, which are addressed within the texts of each religion. For, it was God’s intention in exploring the values of unity, responsibility, and discovery in relation to the environment, that he might render each citizen a responsible steward of the planet bestowed upon us. A responsibility only fully understood through the eyes of the Creator. The Jewish prophet Jeremiah proclaimed that God, “put my [God’s] law within them, and I will write it on their hearts…”(Jeremiah 31:33-34). Within each human being are laws essential to the survival of the human race and the conservation of the planet. Laws that tell us to promote and protect life, to educate responsibly, and to find new ways of helping each other thrive. Humanity has the capacity to reverse the destruction of our only home, but it will require a uniting of ideas, effort, and resources; a reformation of responsibility; and above all else a willingness to discover new and efficient ways of being stewards of the environment.
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