[caption id="attachment_71420" align="alignright" width="350" caption="Patrick Reilly, Standing at rear, with his brother Keelin and sister Melina."]
The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation has announced that Patrick Reilly, a junior at Archmere Academy in Claymont, Delaware, has won the national John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Essay Contest for High School Students.
Reilly will be honored by Caroline Kennedy during the May 7, 2012, Profile in Courage Award ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston, this for his prize-winning essay on former Delaware Governor Russell Peterson, who, in 1971, courageously defied corporate interests in an effort to preserve the natural beauty and resources of Delaware's coastal areas.
Reilly will receive a $10,000 award for his first-place essay. The annual Profile in Courage Essay Contest invites high school students from across the nation to write an essay on an act of political courage by a U.S. elected official.
Patrick is the son of Elaine and Michael Reilly, grandson of Meath natives Patrick and Margaret Reilly of Pearl River in Rockland County, NY and the brother of two younger siblings, Keelin and Melina. Patrick's essay writing skills were already well known before this latest win as he was last year's winner of the United Irish Counties Essay Scholarship.
Patrick serves on the editorial staff of his school's literary magazine and has had articles published in the Archmere newspaper. He participates in Academic Bowl, an interscholastic trivia competition, and is involved in the Model United Nations.
He is currently preparing his Eagle Scout Service Project with a local bike trail organization. He plays the clarinet in Archmere's concert band and the Delaware All-State Band, and is a member of the fencing club.
Reilly's nominating teacher, Timothy Dougherty, will receive a John F. Kennedy Public Service Grant in the amount of $500 to be used for school projects that encourage student leadership and civic engagement.
