Esmeralda Mendoza, a seventh-grade student at CHSD170's Greenbriar School, has been recognized as the winner of the annual Lions International Peace Poster Contest for the Cook County Chicagoland area.
Mendoza, a member of Greenbriar's Leo Club, a school level affiliate of the Chicago Heights Lions Club, received Portillo's and Best Buy gift cards in recognition of the poster that she submitted as part of the Lion's peace initiative.
Her winning poster depicted a family and various landmarks and structures from around the world.
Mendoza and her parents were feted at a breakfast ceremony in Itasca late last month in recognition of her accomplishment.
"I am very excited to be selected as Cook County Chicagoland's winner of the Peace Poster Contest as a representative of the Chicago Heights Lions Club," Mendoza said.
"To be honored at such a special event and to have the opportunity to make a speech about the importance of family to representatives from so many Lions Clubs was a dream come true."
Greenbriar teachers Mary Ann Baiza and Alecia Hoefler accompanied Mendoza and her family at the awards breakfast.
For the past three decades, Lions clubs around the world have sponsored the Lions International Peace Poster Contest to encourage young people worldwide to express their visions of peace.
Greenbriar Principal Joe Taylor praised Mendoza's outstanding effort.
"I am very proud of Esmeralda's superb work in creating a poster that illustrated the importance of peace in our world," Taylor said.
"Her commitment and dedication to this project epitomized her understanding of the importance of promoting this essential human need."