Mundelein High School students took first and second place among Class III Americanism Essay Contest entries submitted to the Mundelein American Legion Auxiliary and Post. Senior Miles Chubin and junior Daniel Reed wrote responses to the question, “What can I do to unite our country?” Their responses earned first place for Chubin and second for Reed with cash prizes of $50 and $25, respectively. A panel of judges from Mundelein’s American Legion Auxiliary #867 and the American Legion Post #867 selected the winners. Chubin’s essay is now competing against first place essays from high schools throughout Lake County in the Legion’s District 10 region. Results are anticipated in June. The annual essay contest is open to students in grades three to 12 and is co-sponsored by the American Legion, the  American Legion Auxiliary and the Sons of the American Legion Detachment of Illinois. 

The American Legion Auxiliary and Post also selects students to represent Mundelein each year at Boys and Girls State, mock government programs presented in all 50 states. The Illini events held at Eastern Illinois University unite hundreds of seniors from across the state to learn about the democratic process by offering a model for students to run for a myriad of offices, draft legislation, build coalitions and enforce Constitutional procedures. Ilya Vynnyk and Giselle (Gigi) Prado will represent Mundelein High School at the week-long 2020 convocations with the hope to be selected as an Illinois “senator” at Boys and Girls Nation in Washington, D.C. In the past three years, two MHS students were selected for this honor.

The American Legion and American Legion Auxiliary sponsor contests and programs for students from elementary through high school, the most well-known of which is American Legion Baseball which fosters sportsmanship, patriotism and encourages active citizenship. In addition to the Americansim essay and Boys and Girls State programs, The American Legion sponsors a nation-wide oratorical contest. Recently it was announced that Mundelein High School’s senior MacKenzie Stewart placed fourth in state at the Illinois 2020 High School Oratorical Contest. Many of the programs, established in the 1920s and 1930s, provide scholarship opportunities.