Riordan writers excel in annual YMI essay contest
Riiny Riiny ’20 won third place in the annual Jim Calabretta essay contest sponsored by the Young Men’s Institute of San Francisco.
May 17, 2019
The Young Men’s Institute is a Catholic organization dedicated to aiding others, the intellectual and social improvement of its members, and spreading devotion and loyalty to the Catholic Church as well as America.
The Young Men’s Institute also educates its members in Catholic and American values in the hope that they will find their place in the world.
Every year, the Young Men’s Institute holds an essay contest based on a prompt that usually deals with an issue related to social relationships or questions about how the Catholic Church views certain situations.
This year, Riordan had two young men receive awards for their entries in the contest, Vicente Francisco ’19 and Riiny Riiny ’20. Francisco got fourth place and Riiny finished in third.
“Without the help of Ms. Dalton, the essay would not have been as well written,” said Riiny. “I think mine kind of touched the judges and they felt something when I read it,” added Riiny.
Riiny’s essay was about his life in South Sudan during the war, and how he had to leave the country because it was not safe. Not only did his story touch the judges, Riiny also did something noble with his award money.
“I sent the money back to my sister and it paid for her tuition for the whole year,” said Riiny.
Tim Reardon, principal of Archbishop Riordan, is a member of the Young Men’s Institute and served as the sponsor for both Francisco and Riiny to participate.
“Mr. Reardon gave the recommendation to the English department and Ms. Assereto recommended me,” said Francisco.
Reardon was extremely pleased with the work of these two students and said, “Ms. Assereto, Ms. Dalton, and I attended the YMI event, and I can’t tell you how proud of Riiny and Vince we all are. The master of ceremonies made a special announcement indicating that this was the first year that Riordan students had participated, so when Vince and Riiny finished in the top four in the high school division, it was a great moment for our school. And when Riiny read his piece, there were literally people in the audience who were crying. It was amazing.”