BHS Student Writes a Poem, Wins a Trip to the Olympics
McDonald’s has long been a house for opportunity and charity, so it was no surprise on September 30, when they announced a youth-centric contest with an amazing prize. This contest, entitled McDonald’s Champion Kids (MCK), was open to youth in the United States, ages eleven to fourteen. The contest offered a once in a lifetime opportunity: a trip to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver as a “correspondent” to one’s hometown. Each entry needed to include a personal essay and a photo or video explaining how the three Olympic values of friendship, excellence, and respect are significant to the author, as well as why they should represent their hometown at the 2010 Winter Games.
Berkeley High’s own Jalena Keane-Lee, a freshman in Berkeley International High School, entered this contest and was selected as one of the ten winners from an applicant pool of over 800 youth. Keane-Lee’s entry was a rhyming piece about her unique heritage, her personal beliefs, and how they related to each of the medals that can be won at the Olympics. Ronald McDonald surprised Keane-Lee, fourteen, and classmates at her Destiny Arts dance rehearsal on Thursday, December 3. Keane-Lee was "really, really excited" to find out that she won, and equally excited to visit Vancouver for the Olympics in February. "The only downside is that I'm going to be missing two performances of the Vagina Monologues during my trip," said Keane-Lee, who has a "really cool monologue" in the show.
The contest judges were chosen for there expertise and interest in sports, and included such athletes as Gold Medal gymnast Shawn Johnson, Alpine snowboarder Graham Watanabe, freestyle mogul skier Patrick Deneen, speed skaters Jennifer Rodriguez and J.R. Celski, and basketball greats Alonzo Mourning and Dwight Howard. The finalists were judged on five key themes: creativity and originality, appropriateness to the theme, clarity of expression, grammar, and reporting ability/personality.
About Keane-Lee’s piece, Johnson, also an MCK Ambassador, said, “After reading Jalena’s contest entry, I was very impressed by her creative approach to express what the Olympic values meant to her. I was also interested to read about Jalena’s heritage and what that means to her, and look forward to meeting her during the Olympic Winter Games in February.”
Keane-Lee’s prize, along with a four day trip for a kid and a parent to the Olympics, includes opportunities to meet with Olympic athletes and fellow Champion Kids, attend Olympic sporting events and explore the winter culture of Vancouver with various activities; all the while recording and reporting back to Berkeley. "I have a really full itinerary while I'm there," she explained. Keane-Lee’s mother, who originally alerted her of the contest, will be her guest of honor. Keane-Lee plans to check out speed skating (to see Apolo Anton Ohno, a personal favorite), figure skating, and the Opening Ceremonies, taking place on Wednesday, February 10, which she's "really looking forward to." Other winners came from all over the United States including the states of Ohio, Alabama, New Jersey, Colorado, North Dakota, Virginia, Oregon, and Georgia.
The MCK program began with the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where more than 200 children from 40 countries flocked to Beijing, courtesy of McDonald's. Many of those kids were also reporting back home. The contest was created to boost physical activity in children and offer an otherwise impossible chance for kids from all over the world to visit the Olympics in person.
Neil Golden, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of McDonald's USA, commented, "This program is one of the many ways we aim to bring joy and fun to families every day."
Three Things
By Jalena Keane-Lee
80 countries
15 sports
three medals
Three different cultures that you may not see
Interwoven throughout every part of me
China to Ireland and Japan
Make me the person that I am
I am not any one, but all three combined
Who I am is me, not how I’m defined
Three medallions, bronze, silver, and gold
Each with an unknown story waiting to be told
Gold promotes courage, confidence, and power
Respect, that when nurtured can blossom like a flower
Silver, shinning mirror of the soul, who you are
Reflected on all friendships near and far
Brass, brazen bold bronze makes a beautiful sound
It’s excellence forever echoing all around
All three can stand-alone and are still real nice
Together new significance defeats every vice
Respect other cultures and don’t hate
Recognize what each country has to celebrate
China to Ireland and Japan
make me the person that I am
Bronze to Silver and Gold
three medals that will never, ever get old
Excellence to Friendship and Respect
values that we all need to protect
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