Freshman Jennifer Wayland wrote an award-winning essay for the Breaking Barriers contest sponsored by Scholastic and Major League Baseball. Jackie Robinson’s daughter, Sharon Robinson, came to the school to give the award as well as a brand new Samsung laptop to Wayland.
The Breaking Barriers essay writing contest, created in honor of Jackie Robinson, chose freshman Jennifer Wayland as one of two Grand Prize winners for her essay describing the barrier she broke: her body image.
“When I read her essay, I thought that she really had a chance of getting noticed,” English teacher Mrs. Cindy Krone said.
Krone was also given a Samsung laptop. The ceremony was held in Krone’s room during Wayland’s 6th block English I class on Tuesday, May 1. Robinson spoke with all the students.
“After she spoke, she signed books and talked to each student individually. I thought that that takes a special person,” Krone said.
The Breaking Barriers contest had 18,700 entries, and the prompt was choosing a barrier that the writer has broken through to get somewhere in their life. Robinson said that they wanted students to focus not so much on the problem but on the process of breaking through the barrier, just like Jackie Robinson did with the color barrier in the MLB.
“My reaction was shock. I couldn’t believe I had won. I didn’t even think for a second my essay had a chance to win,” Wayland said.
Robinson came to Central after visiting another winner in the University City School District. Both were recognized at the April 30 St. Louis Cardinals game at Busch Stadium.
“I came here to recognize Jennifer Wayland. To me, the real testament to how [Jackie Robinson] affected us is how she related what he did to her barrier,” Robinson said.
Wayland and Robinson spoke at length throughout Robinson’s time in St. Louis.
“Sharon has been amazing to talk to. It surprised me that we’ve been able to talk so casually, but she’s a person like the rest of us,” Wayland said. “She’s incredibly interesting though, and I’ve been soaking up everything she says.”
Wayland read her essay in front of her class after Robinson awarded her the Grand Prize and the laptop.
“It was hard to read the essay. I wasn’t sure if the message would get through; plus I’m not very good at public speaking,” Wayland said. “I was a little scared, but I did want to read it for my friends in the class.”
Krone was proud of Wayland for writing about her hardship, even if it was turned in for an extra credit assignment. She applauded the freshman for having the courage to write and then read the essay in front of her peers.
“All I knew was that she shared something that a lot of girls her age wouldn’t be able to share,” Krone said.
Wayland was just glad she got to have this experience.
“I would take the knowledge that I do actually have the power to reach people with my words. It’s such a new idea to me, though I’ve been writing for a while; I always assumed I would only be writing for myself,” Wayland said. “I never imagined people would listen and care about what I had to say. So that was a new and wonderful experience.”
