Which teen won the overall Somerset courthouse essay contest and why is it important?

It might be tradition or the only time one would enter the Somerset County Courthouse or a curiosity of how things work or even just getting a day off of school.

But for Abigail Ickes, a sophomore in Meyersdale who won the 2024 overall courthouse tour essay contest, taking the tour and writing about her impressions was a step into her future.

"The courthouse essay contest is a long tradition which was associated with the school courthouse tours, which, unfortunately, fell by the wayside as a result of COVID-19, which the Somerset County Bar Association is attempting to revive," said Somerset County Bar Association President Benjamin Carroll.

This is where Ickes comes into the story. She is the overall essay contest winner this year.

"For the longest time I have always been interested in the legal system and its impact," she said. "The U.S. legal system I hope will become part of my everyday life if my aspirations of becoming an FBI behavior analyst, profiler pans out the way I hope.”

How it works

After the courthouse tours, students who participate in the contest submit essays about the experience to their teacher, who then select an "individual school" winner.  Each individual school's winner's essay is then submitted to the Bar Association, and a panel of three bar members (who were not tour guides) anonymously vote to determine the overall winner, Carroll said.

Each "individual school winner" receives $100 from the bar association, and the "overall winner" receives $200 and his or her essay is printed in the courthouse calendar for the coming year, he said.

Other: Somerset attorneys went to county schools to share what Law Day represents

The Courthouse Essay Contest Ceremony is a ceremonial session of court, in which the individual school winners who are able to attend read their essays, and then the overall winner is announced, Carroll said.

Sharing the ceremony are attorneys, family and public officials sitting in the audience.

“I was surprised that my essay was chosen out of everyone there they all posed incredible literature to be judged," Ickes said. "Then I was proud, all the work and thought that was produced to impact my essay was recognized. It’s hard to place words with how the emotions played out but I can say full-heartedly that it will always be one of my most pleasant memories to memorialize in my thoughts."

A portion of what she had to say:

"The courthouse is not just a place, but its own entity ... The courthouse is a machine in which everyone plays their part. It is not some game or play where only one thing matters but every detail can forever change a life good or bad."

This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Which teen won the overall Somerset courthouse essay contest and why is it important?