Juniors Alyssa Nozka and Ashley Bolwell won first and second place respectively in the annual Mid-Bergen County Rotary Club’s Four-Way Test Essay Contest.

“Job well done! I’m so proud of the winners, and I am excited to celebrate their win,” said English Teacher Mrs. Lonergan. The upperclassmen are enrolled in the instructor’s public speaking elective where students are normally required to construct and present writing pieces.

The prompts for the Four-Way Test ask students to answer: “Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and friendship? and Will it be beneficial to all concerned?” and in approximately 1500 words, address how this type of test will help them confront or deal with instances of failure throughout their lives. The Four-Way Test is an ethics-based assessment created by Herbert Taylor in the 1930s.

First Place Winner Alyssa Nozka said, “I wrote about my cousin with Down syndrome who I never want to see bullied. I want to stand up for people who may not be able to stand up for themselves.”

Ashley Bolwell, the second place winner, stated, “I wrote about how I used the Four-Way Test to prevent myself from saying something I shouldn’t in response to conflict.

Both of the winners attended the Rotary Club’s awards dinner at the Holiday Inn in Hasbrouck Heights on May 14, where they were presented with a plaque and monetary prize of $500 for the first-place winner and $300 for the second-place winner. They will also be featured in The Record.

The Rotary Club is an international organization with the stated purpose of bringing together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service, goodwill, and peace globally. The organization includes over 1.2 million people worldwide who help combat problems from better schooling to providing clean water in third world countries.