Olivia Drewniak, high school senior at Morse High School in Bath, Maine, was named the 2025-2026 Voice of Democracy first-place winner. Drewniak’s speech on the theme “How Are You Showing Patriotism and Support for Our Country?” was awarded the top prize of a $35,000 college scholarship. She was sponsored by VFW Post 7738.
Watch her read her speech here.
Andrew Ge, an eighth grade student from San Ramon, California, was named the 2025-2026 Patriot’s Pen first-place winner. His essay on the theme “How Are You Showing Patriotism and Support for Our Country?” won the national first place $5,000 award. Ge was sponsored by San Ramon Valley VFW Post 75 located in Danville, California.
Watch him read his essay here.
VFW Auxiliary National President Lois Callahan was present at the Parade of Winners at the Union League of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania on April 11; she presented the awards to student winners alongside VFW Junior Vice Commander Glenn Umberger Jr. in the presence of Founding Father Benjamin Franklin (or, more accurately, an actor fully in character as “The First American”).
The students and their chaperones had already been in the state for a few days as they attended the Spirit of American Youth Leadership program on the Valley Forge campus during which they participated in bonding activities and learned about American history.
In total, 52 students were awarded VFW Voice of Democracy scholarships. These included students in every U.S. state, plus the Republic of Korea (Department of Pacific Areas) and England (Department of Europe). The top 10 winners represented Maine, New Jersey, Indiana, Wyoming, Pennsylvania, Texas, Missouri, Nevada, Massachusetts and Arkansas.
The VFW Patriot’s Pen top 10 winners represented California, Illinois, Michigan, Vermont, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Nevada, Ohio, Missouri and Rhode Island. Other winners represented each of the remaining U.S. states plus the Philippines (Department of Pacific Areas) and Germany (Department of Europe).
Congratulations to all of these incredibly talented students!
The full list of VFW Voice of Democracy winners can be found here.
The full list of VFW Patriot’s Pen winners can be found here.
To watch the VFW Parade of Winners, click on the video below.