Winning the Princeton Book Award: Three Years In the Making
Photo submitted by Li.
Derek Zhang
Just this past month, HHS junior Lari Li was selected as one of the eight winners of the annual Princeton Club of Wisconsin Book Award Program. This celebration marks the third year in a row where a student from HHS has been an award recipient. Congratulations to Lari for achieving this impressive feat!
The Princeton Club of Wisconsin hosts a Book Award Program every year where high schoolers across the state compete for a chance to earn recognition, win a book written by a Princeton alum, and participate in an awards ceremony joined by admitted applicants. The process begins with high school officials who nominate juniors for the program. At HHS, Mrs. Melody Williams—known by many for sending out various scholarship emails—nominates three students each year. These junior students are then notified in February via mail of their standing in the competition. Each one receives a letter outlining the program—what it is, the timeline, and the award—as well as a packet containing the actual application. Students are asked for their basic and academic information, extracurricular activities, and future aspirations; an essay is also submitted that can answer any of the questions provided or be about a topic of the student’s choosing. After completing the application by April, candidates will wait another month until they hear back about the results in May. Finally, winners are invited to a dinner and awards ceremony in June to be recognized and receive the book.
The program’s first Hamilton winner was Maggie Kidd in 2023, and the second Hamilton winner was Derek Zhang in 2024.
This year’s winner, Lari, was asked several questions about the program and for any advice to future nominees:
What was your first feeling/thought when you found out that you had been nominated and after you won?
I was not expecting a nomination at all. I remember reading the article celebrating Derek’s and Maggie's award last year and knew it was a difficult feat, so the nomination was a really nice surprise. I'm very touched that Mrs. Williams thought of me. Going into the awards, I didn't know how well I fared against all the other nominees, but I was 100% satisfied with my essay. I knew I'd be bummed with no award, but I was really happy about my essay. Knowing I did all I possibly could, if I didn't win anything then it was just the way things go.
I was super nervous opening the decision letter. The letter itself didn't start off with a "congratulations," so I thought I didn't win anything. Real funny! I had to keep reading a little more to find out I had been selected as one of the winners. It was definitely a rollercoaster of emotions that day but I was super happy that the review committee saw value in my essay the same way I do.
What did you enjoy the most about the process?
My favorite part was making the essay as "me" as possible. It's a longer version of the college essay I wrote for AP Lang, and I believe the original 650 word limit was not enough to truly communicate who I am and all the nuances behind the narrative. It was super fun adding little details and nuggets throughout the piece to better reflect who I am and why I'm writing. I'm also more of a creative writer, so I was able to do a lot of fun things in terms of style.
What was the theme of your essay, and why did you choose it?
My essay was a personal narrative centered around a conversation I had with my speedskating coach from 8 PM to midnight. We coincidentally ran into each other at a restaurant after a long day at the rink. This happened a couple days before my AP Lang college essay was due, so it was fresh in my memory and I just felt like the timing of the experience was perfect.
My essay was a blend of the experience as well as my takeaways. I had been struggling with a plateau for almost two seasons then, yet we still exchanged ideas about how I could get better. The next morning of skating wasn't necessarily that much better, but I came to many realizations and conclusions that day. As I looked at everyone on that rink with me, I was really able to see parts of myself in my coach that night with the way that he was so passionate about helping others.
With my love for speedskating and my love for helping others, this unforgettable experience was the perfect intersection for me to write about both.
Any advice you would give for future nominees?
1. Talk to Kowalske!!!
She's on a roll. This year is her three-peat. She's helped Derek, Maggie, and me. Her advice is extremely insightful, and it's great to bounce essay ideas with her. She was very quick with proofreading my essay and fixing things up for conciseness and clarity.
2. Talk to past winners.
I was super busy and wrote my essay on a tight deadline, so I never thought of reaching out to Derek. I wish I did now, as firsthand experience is extremely valuable, especially for competitions like this. Past winners will be able to guide you through the application form process (as there is a questionnaire for the committee to learn more about you) and give you pointers on how writing the essay should feel.
To next year's nominees: Feel free to reach out to me anytime! I'm super happy to help.
3. You don't have to follow the essay prompts.
The application form gives you the choice to answer some given prompts, or it states that you can write an essay of your choice. While many of the given prompts applied to my essay, it wasn't directly based on one. I decided to just write about what feels right to me, and everything else fell right into place. I feel like confining your expression to only one prompt limits a lot of what you can do, or subconsciously prevents you from thinking outside the box of what you'd like to do with your essay.
