NASHUA – Grace Li, of Nashua Catholic Junior High School, was named the seventh-grade winner in the American History Essay Contest.

The event is sponsored yearly by the Matthew Thornton Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Grace’s essay has also taken state honors and has moved on to national competition.

Grace’s work is a letter in the first person telling the story of a youngster immigrating to the United States through Ellis Island.

When asked what made the greatest impact on her, Grace said, “I was amazed by the uncertainty. This child took a hard and dangerous journey and could have been sent back to her homeland at any point on Ellis Island.”

In her letter, Grace writes to her fictional friend, “There were people like us who were trying to escape poverty, tyrants, famine, and just trying to begin a new life, a better life.”