As part of their annual Summer Reading Contest, middle and high school students across the world were asked to submit a response to any article from the New York Times in 2023. Judges from the Times newsroom and The Learning Network then chose and published a winner each week for 10 weeks. Out of 725 entries, Katie Chung ’24 was chosen as the week one winner. In her submission, she responded to an article in the Style section where she wrote about embracing “beige flags.” Katie said that doing so, “means acknowledging that perfection is an elusive ideal …In an age marked by polarization and categorizing people as good or bad, welcoming the in-between becomes an effective tool for encouraging empathy; if we can extend this acceptance to other aspects of our lives, we can begin fostering a more compassionate society.”

 

Congratulations to Katie on her win! Learn more about the contest and read her submission on nytimes.com.