Photo by Ellen Ferrera Sullivan High school English teacher Cami Badman and NPR Illinois essay winner Katie Webb with copy of her essay.

•April 4, 2018•

By Ellen Ferrera
for the News Progress

If ever anyone has spun gold cloth from the frayed threads of their life, Katie Webb is that person.

Webb, a Sullivan High School student, was recently chosen one of 10 state winners in the Illinois National Public Radio essay contest. From 200 entries, 10 were selected, each receiving a $100 prize for their composition on the topic “This I Believe.”

Cami Badman, Webb’s high school English teacher, assigned her class the task of writing the 500-word essay for NPR. “ I told the class that, as long as they had written the essay, they should enter the contest.”

Webb’s story strikes close to home—her parents were drug addicts. Her mother was rarely home, and her weekends growing up were spent visiting her incarcerated father. She realized at a young age that this was the reality of her life, and she has never shied away from openly discussing these circumstances. Believing having a truthful and open approach to life is the best policy, she conveyed that in her essay.     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.