“I’m very excited, I’m the only one from Trigg County going,” Mayes said. This will be her first time competing in the state competition.
According to Jim Garnett, Mayes’s middle school academic coach, she was the runner-up in the district and then regional competitions but still qualified for the state competition, and will be staying at the Galt House. Mayes got second place out of the 17 people that competed.
Mayes said that to qualify for the state competition, she and others had to write a business letter to President Barack Obama to persuade him to send a manned or unmanned space probe to Mars.
“I’m hoping to get into the top 10,” Mayes said, adding that more than 200 will be competing next month.
Mayes praised Chrissy Etheridge, her seventh grade English teacher, and Sheila Thomas, her sixth grade English teacher. “They helped me become as good a writer as I am because without them, my writing wouldn’t be as distinguished as it is now,” she said.
