On Constitution Day (September 17), the FCBA announced the winners of its Tenth Annual Constitution Contest.
A record 40 high school students from the Northern District entered this year’s Contest, which (as last year) offered two categories: (1) video essays shorter than 10 minutes in duration that have been posted on the social media platform YouTube; and (2) posters in any medium (paper or digital) submitted in PDF format. Nine entries were received in the Video Category, and 31 entries were received in the Poster Category.
All entries came from nine high schools in the Northern District: Binghamton High School in Broome County; Dana L. West Jr-Sr. High School (Port Byron) in Cayuga County; Fayetteville-Manlius High School in Onondaga County; Jamesville-DeWitt High School in Onondaga County; Guilderland High School in Albany County; Liverpool High School in Onondaga County; Mount Markham High School in Herkimer County; Niskayuna in Schenectady County; and West Genesee High School in Onondaga County.
Each entry was required to address one of the following four topics: (1) the independence of federal court judges; (2) the 17 enumerated powers of Congress; (3) the 27 amendments to the Constitution; and (4) James Madison’s famous “If men were angels” passage from Federalist Paper No. 51 (Feb. 8, 1788). Entries were evaluated by five federal judges: U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Brindisi; U.S. Magistrate Judge Thérèse Wiley Dancks; U.S. Magistrate Judge Miroslav Lovric; U.S. Magistrate Judge Mitchell J. Katz; and U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul J Evangelista. The judges evaluated each entry based on the extent that the entry’s answers to the specific questions posed in the topic were complete, clear, and cogent.
First place in the Video Category went to Samantha Dalmolen of Binghamton High School, who was awarded $1,000 for her entry on Topic 3. See https://youtu.be/YH8kGJtKdek?si=RclFI2jhyhZ7nlSA. Second place in the Video Category was shared by Carrie Lama of Guilderland High School and Anqi Geng of Fayetteville-Manlius High School, who were each awarded $400 for their entries on Topics 4 and 3, respectively. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMCQGDM5OD8&t=1s; https://youtu.be/7M5E15IPTDY. Third place in the Video Category went to Noah Adams of West Genesee High School, who was awarded $150 for his entry on Topic 3. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKVJ7JLl13Y. Fourth place in the Video Category went to Ayesha Afghan of Niskyuna High School, who was awarded $75 for her entry on Topic 4. See https://youtu.be/2o0LPtAMgxc. Fifth place in the Video Category went to Gianna Scalzetti of Fayetteville-Manlius High School, who was awarded $50 for her entry on Topic 4. See https://youtu.be/mkdAQ6gJ2fI.
First place in the Poster Category went to Jacob Mead of Guilderland High School, who was awarded $1,000 for his entry on Topic 1. See Attached Entry P-29. Second place in the Poster Category went to Marlena Doerle of Dana L. West Jr.-Sr. High School (Port Byron), who was awarded $400 for her entry on Topic 2. See Attached Entry P-16. Third place in the Poster Category went to Kaitlyn Cohen of Jamesville-DeWitt High School, who was awarded $150 for her entry on Topic 3. See Attached Entry P-7. Fourth place in the Poster Category went to Ella Jorgensen of Dana L. West Jr.-Sr. High School (Port Byron), who was awarded $75 for her entry on Topic 2. Fifth place in the Poster Category was shared by to Makenna Elliott of Jamesville-DeWitt High School and Xin Yi Li of Fayetteville-Manlius High School, who were each awarded $50 for their entries on Topics 1 and 2,respectively.
The 28 remaining contestants received Honorable Mention and shared the remainder of $4,500 in prize money (each receiving a prize of $25).
Over the past 10 years, the Program has awarded $34,350 in prize money to 189 students from 30 high schools in the Northern District. The eleventh annual contest will be announced in the winter of 2026. A list of official rules and available topics will be available on the contest’s new webpage on the NDNY-FCBA’s website. See https://ndnyfcba.org/awards-and-special-programs/constitutional-scholars-program/. As in past years, the contest will be open to all students in grades 9 through 12 in the 32 counties that constitute the Northern District of New York.
The winning entry from Jacob Mead of Guilderland (entry P-29)
The second-place entry from Marlena Doerle of Dana L. West Jr.-Sr. High School (Port Byron) (entry P-16)
The third-place entry from Kaitlyn Cohen of Jamesville-DeWitt High School (entry P-7)