NOTE: This press release is being resent to correct the link to the essays.

Three Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) students have been selected as winners in the 2011 Junior Achievement Essay Competition, including one who has been named the grand prize winner.

Fiona V. Lam, a junior at Richard Montgomery High School, was selected as the grand prize winner and David Zhang, a junior at Richard Montgomery High School, and Samuel Pearl-Schwartz, a junior at Walt Whitman High School were selected as state winners. Additionally, Richard Montgomery High School won the Maryland award for having the most eligible applicants. As the grand prize winner, Ms. Lam will receive a $20,000 scholarship, while Mr. Zhang and Mr. Pearl-Schwartz will each receive $10,000 scholarships as state finalists. Richard Montgomery High School will receive a $6,000 grant.

The competition, coordinated by Junior Achievement of Greater Washington, asked high school students from Virginia, Maryland and Washington D.C. to compete for scholarships by writing a 1,000-1,500 word essay in response to the following question: “How can young entrepreneurs and the local governments of D.C., Maryland, Virginia work together to empower the next generation to improve the quality of life for the citizens of Greater Washington?” Recipients of the scholarship will be honored at a ceremony on Wednesday, May 16, 2012 in Washington DC. To read the winning entries, visit the Junior Achievement website.

The competition is sponsored by David M. Rubenstein, co-founder and managing director of The Carlyle Group, a global asset management company.