Jefferson High Student Wins Essay Contest

Nattlie Cragen, a Jefferson High sophomore, was one of five winners of the 2022 Wilderness Essay contest. The contest is managed by Wild Montana’s Wild Divide Chapter. The contestants were asked to read “A Wild Land Ethic: The Story of Wilderness in Montana” and were then asked to reflect and reply to the prompt: “What do Montana’s wildlands mean to you?” 

For Nattlie this meant talking about her time in the outdoors. She said that she chose to write about her experiences with camping on Montana’s Public Lands. She said “I choose to write about camping because I love being outdoors with my family and my friends.” She said she especially enjoys going kayaking and hiking, and public lands allow for that. When asked how she felt about winning the contest, Nattlie said that she was “pretty surprised, but it was a cool experience” to have her interest stand out in this way.

Nattlie wrote and submitted the essay as part of an assignment for her English class. Anne Jolliff, Nattlie’s teacher, said that this was the first time she had students enter the competition. She was contacted by Montana Wild’s Tom Penderson with information on the contest. Jolliff also said that “Public lands and Waterways are something I feel strongly about, and I think it’s important to have future generations realize how lucky they are to have them, and this contest was a perfect way to do so.” Jolliff continued to say that she was so excited for Nattlie when she found out she had won. Jolliff also said that “overall I think these essays were some of my students’ best writing all year.”