Students to be honored at youth anti-violence awards luncheon

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Board of Juvenile Justice on Thursday will honor 12 Utah middle school students for their written anti-violence entries to Utah's 12th annual Do the Write Thing Challenge as part of the National Campaign to Stop Youth Violence.

Contest finalists are: Breitton Adams, Desert Hills Middle School, St. George; Alborz Alimadadi, South Ogden Junior High, Ogden; Alexis Bennett, Highland Junior High, Layton; Erika Cragun, Highland Junior High, Ogden; Brittany Critchfield, Mount Jordan Middle School, Sandy; Nathan Cummings, South Ogden Junior High, Ogden; Joel Devey, Fort Herriman Middle School, Riverton; Yassmin Peralta, Midvale Middle School. Midvale; David Quach, Northwest Middle School, Salt Lake City; Shelby Reynolds, Desert Hills Middle School, St. George; Ben Sherer-Lykes, Treasure Mountain Middle School, Park City; and Payden Trujillo, South Ogden Junior High, Ogden.

Sponsored nationally by the Kuwait-America Foundation, Do the Write Thing invites seventh- and eighth-grade students to write how violence has affected their lives and what they can do to prevent violence in their community. 

Utah's top two writers will be recognized with other finalists at the Do the Write Thing National Recognition Ceremony in Washington, D.C. in July. They will meet with members of Congress.