> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Students beat out thousands in essay contest
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/students-beat-out-thousands-in-essay-contest/
- Published: 2004-04-12T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T04:12:40.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Education, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*By Daily Press staff*

Don’t write off Santa Monica High School junior Ryan Rodriguez just yet. Rodriguez recently beat out more than 10,000 competitors in a county-wide “write off.” The fifth-annual AVID Los Angeles County “Write Off” was held last month for high school and middle school students at California State University, Long Beach. This year’s essay winners were all part of a program called “Advancement Via Individual Determination.” The program targets and pushes students with college potential to succeed in school and enter college.

Erin Gruwell, author of “The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them”, and LeAndré Turner, secretary to the associate dean at California State University, recognized the students with a certificate of achievement.

Each student’s essay commented on an excerpt from “The Freedom Writers Diary.”

The day-long celebration of good writing, organized by the Los Angeles County Office of Education AVID Program, included an opportunity to meet the guest authors and attend workshops designed to promote tolerance awareness through discussion and writing activities.

The students asked Gruwell to talk about the ways writing helped to change the perspectives of themselves and the world around them. The students then attended a workshop led by one of the freedom writers that allowed students to spend a day in a college classroom.

Most AVID students are often the first people in their family to go to college, and many are from lower income families or from groups underrepresented in California’s universities.

Ninety-five percent of AVID students enter college, officials said, and statistics also show that AVID students are successful while in college.

“Write Off” challenges high school and middle school students to practice their writing skills. Writing is one of the three AVID program strategies that enable students to excel at difficult course work, while learning the importance of clear communication.

While Rodriguez won the bronze medal in his age group, Lauren Sanchez of Malibu Middle School won the silver medal in her category.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 12, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/041204.pdf?ref=smdp.com)