Cypress Woods High School Class of 2022 graduate Eshal Warsi placed third in the National Center for State Courts Civics Education Essay Contest. She was also one of 12 finalists in the state in the annual Barbara Jordan Essay Contest. 

June 9, 2022—Cypress Woods High School Class of 2022 graduate Eshal Warsi placed third in the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) Civics Education Essay Contest.  

The 2022 contest required students in grades 6-12 to write essays explaining which amendment in the U.S. Constitution has had the most impact on people’s lives. Warsi’s essay focused on the Sixth Amendment, which states that in all criminal prosecutions, the accused has the right to a speedy and public trial and an impartial jury, among other rights. Warsi argued that the sixth amendment is the most important because it treats everyone the same, which sets the United States apart from other countries.

Warsi is no stranger to placing in essay contests. She was part of the state champion literary criticism team from Cypress Woods that won the title during the 2022 UIL State Academic Meet. She also placed in the top 12 in the annual Barbara Jordan Essay Contest. Her award-winning essay highlighting Rev. Claude Black is now archived at the Briscoe Center for American History at the University of Texas at Austin.

Essays in the NCSC contest were judged by staff and a finalist panel including Board Chair and Rhode Island Chief Justice Paul A. Suttell and Mason Farr of the Ohio Supreme Court’s Civic Education Section.

Visit the NCSC Vimeo page to listen to Warsi read her winning essay.