Optimum Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month with its Annual Student Essay Contest

Optimum’s long-running essay contest invites students from across the country to share their perspectives on Hispanic heritage 

Optimum, together with co-sponsor Univision Foundation, is proud to announce the start of its annual Hispanic Heritage essay contest across Optimum’s service area. In honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month, which is observed each year from September 15 to October 15, the essay contest recognizes and celebrates the diverse histories, cultures, and contributions of generations of Hispanic Americans across the country.

Available to all middle and high school students across Optimum’s 21-state footprint, the essay contest will run through Thursday, October 31 and boasts a total of four Grand Prize scholarships of $3,000 as well as Honorable Mention prizes. This year’s prompt is:

In Hispanic culture, traditions such as dance, food or historical and family celebrations are important ways people connect and reflect on heritage. People also connect to Hispanic culture through media and entertainment, events or relationships with individuals in their community. In 500 words or less, choose a person, cultural experience, celebration or tradition that has helped you connect to Hispanic culture and explain what that means to you.

Additionally, Optimum and Univision Foundation will recognize the educators who encouraged their students to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month by submitting an essay. Special gifts will be awarded to educators who sponsor the highest number of essay submissions from their students. 

“Optimum is thrilled to once again launch our annual essay contest in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month,” said Jen Ostrager, Senior Vice President of Community Affairs at Optimum. “As a company committed to inspiring the next generation of innovators, this contest provides students from all backgrounds a chance to acknowledge and celebrate the significant role of Hispanic culture in our society. Each year, we receive heartfelt and powerful essays from students across our footprint, who share their personal stories and cultural insights while highlighting the importance of cultural connection and understanding, and we look forward to reading this year’s submissions.”

Eligibility Requirements

• Participants must be a student in grades 6-12 and attend a school in the Optimum service area;
• Participants from all ethnic and cultural backgrounds are welcome to submit an essay;
• Essay submissions must be written in English;
• All essay submissions must be received by 11:59 pm EST on October 31, 2024.

As part of Optimum’s recently launched brand platform Where local is big time, Optimum continues to find new ways to deepen its community presence and connect its customers to what matters most, which includes supporting, understanding, and celebrating what makes each of its local communities unique. Optimum’s Hispanic Heritage essay contest is a concrete example of this very commitment to customers and businesses across the company’s footprint, furthering Optimum’s commitment to making a positive impact in the communities it serves. 

For more on Optimum’s Hispanic Heritage essay contest, including submission requirements, information on prizes, and how to submit essays, visit optimum.com/hhm.