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Los Gatos Youth Recognized as Winner in SILVAR Essay Contest


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Thursday, June 21, 2007

Left to right: SILVAR's Interim EO and Government Affairs Director Paul Cardus; second place HomeWords™  Essay Contest winner Kathy Li, a junior at Los Gatos High School; Li's teacher, Sharon Smith; Mercury News in Education Manager Sandy Marine; and Los Gatos/Saratoga District Chair Brian Crane.

A Los Gatos student was among the top winners of an essay contest sponsored in part by Realtors®. Kathy Li, a junior at Los Gatos High School, received the second place award for her essay entitled, "My American Dream." Li and her teacher Ms. Sharon Smith, were recognized by the Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® at last week's Los Gatos/Saratoga Realtor tour meeting.

This is the second year SILVAR has sponsored the "What is your American Dream?" HomeWords™ Essay Contest in partnership with the California Association of REALTORS® and the San Jose Mercury News, as part of the 2007 HomeWords™ program. The teachers of prize winners also receive cash awards.

The local Realtor association selects a total of six winners – three at the high school level and three at the intermediate (seventh and eighth grade) level. In the high school category, Seva Ivanov, a ninth grader at Fremont High School, received $500 for placing first; his teacher, Alysa Clark, received $150. As the second place winner, Kathy Li received $300; her teacher, Sharon Smith, received $100. Angelica Godinez, a senior at Fremont High School, received $150; her teacher, Sonia Dass, received $100.

In the intermediate category, the winners and their prizes are Emma Marriott, first prize of $450 and Karen Camacho, second prize of $250. Both Marriott and Camacho are from Terman Middle School. Their teacher, Tracey Berliner, will receive $250. The third prize of $150 goes to Rebecca Moll of Cupertino Middle School; her teacher, Grace Hynes, will receive $100.

Li touched the Realtors' hearts as she read portions of her essay. She wrote about first coming to America from China, fresh out of preschool, not knowing what to expect, and clinging to her grandmother' words, "Life is good here … In America, things are possible, more than anywhere else."

Life wasn't easy when she and three other members of her family first arrived in Oxford, Mississippi. They had to live in a cramped one-bedroom apartment, much smaller than the one they had occupied in China. Li told Realtors she remembers the family having to scrimp and save, and observed how often her mother would eat less, just so her children could have more.

Longing for a home, Li wrote, "A house is the manifestation of one's achievements, of hopes and dreams realized. It is a place for families to take root, to etch out the story of their lives in the nooks and crannies. It is the generation and generation of portraits in the hallway, the dents and grooves on the counter from years of holiday dinners, the intimate knowledge of which stairs that creak and which loose floorboards are holing up lost treasures. A home bears the testimony of one's family history, a legacy of how they lived."

Now living in a larger apartment in Los Gatos, life is better for Li and her family. She ends her essay stating, "… sometimes, I look out my window into the lush green mountains, and I'd like to think that there's a house out there, door painted red (for luck), waiting just for me."

On behalf of the Realtors, Interim Executive Officer and Government Affairs Director Paul Cardus congratulated Li and presented her and Smith with their cash awards and certificates.

Cardus told Realtors, "As Realtors you go out of your way to support the schools and SILVAR's HomeWords™  Essay Contest underscores our commitment and support for education, as well as our appreciation for the tremendous work our students and teachers do."

"As we all know, it's not the bricks and mortars that make the schools; it's the teachers that make it. The contest is just a small part of our commitment and support for education. What makes our districts special is the quality of the schools which people look for when purchasing a home," added Brian Crane, chair of the Los Gatos/Saratoga District.

"The Silicon Valley Association of Realtors has really stepped up to the plate to support our local schools," said Sandy Marine, Mercury News in Education Manager. "What you have done is wonderful and we couldn't have done this without you. Thank you for supporting the endeavor and we hope we can do it again."

HomeWords ™ is a newspaper-based educational program created by the Los Angeles Times and sponsored by the California Association of REALTORS® and Fannie Mae. The Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® is a HomeWords ™ regional sponsor. This sponsorship provides classroom sets of newspapers once a week for several weeks to participating teachers and students to use in their lessons.


The Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® (SILVAR) is a professional trade organization representing over 4,000 REALTORS® and Affiliate members engaged in the real estate business on the Peninsula and in the South Bay. SILVAR promotes the highest ethical standards of real estate practice, serves as an advocate for homeownership and homeowners, and represents the interests of property owners in Silicon Valley.

The term "REALTOR®" is a registered collective membership mark which identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and who subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics.

For further information, please contact Rose Meily at SILVAR Public Affairs, email , or phone (408) 200-0109.

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