SPRINGFIELD — Tah’Tionna Taylor is hoping an essay she wrote about the impact of violence in her community will make a difference.
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“There’s like a lot of kids at my school that go through violence that shouldn’t have to, and like they’re scared to speak their mind and stuff,” the seventh-grader said Thursday.
Her essay was selected from more than 100 that were entered as part of “Do The Write Thing,” a national program aimed at getting students to write about violence and its impact.
Tah’Tionna, one of 10 Springfield City School District finalists honored for their essays, also caught the attention of state Attorney General Dave Yost during the award ceremony at John Legend Theater.
Students in Springfield “tackled the difficult subject with candor, thoughtfulness and insight beyond their years,” Yost said.
“Do the Write Thing” originated in Ohio in 2021, when Springfield became the first district statewide to partner on the program with Yost’s office. Bolstered by that success, the program has since expanded to four other Ohio districts: Canton, Lima, Youngstown and Zanesville.
This year, more than 900 Springfield seventh- and eighth-graders participated in the program.
“I love this program because it helps students find their own voice,” Yost said, who noted that he was taken by this part of Tah’Tionna’s essay: “In this generation kids and teens can’t walk down one street without seeing an act of violence.”
Yost told News Center 7′s Xavier Hershovitz that the impact of growing up around violence is something he sees in his job all the time.
“You start to think that’s the way the world works and you want to try to either hide or become the strong one,” Yost said. “And that’s not a good way for our society or civilization to go.”
And Tracy Yates, whose husband, Clark County Sheriff’s Deputy Matthew Yates was killed in the line of duty by gun violence, also backed up the message of the event -- to encourage middle-schoolers to explain how youth violence affects them and what they can do to help stop it.
“The impact of violence, especially when it claims the life of someone like Deputy Yates, goes far beyond the incident itself,” she said.
Tah’Tionna said she hopes her essay will make a difference.
Her mother is hoping the same.
Growing up in Springfield can be rough, Pearla Taylor said.
“I hope that she grows into an adult that would stand in that for our community also that’s what I’m rooting for her for her life,” Mother Pearla said. “So I want this to be a lifelong thing, not just for a school essay.”
The two winners from Springfield will head to Washington, D.C., this summer to join other “Do the Write Thing” ambassadors from all across the country.