Steven R. Curnow

Steven R. Curnow Competition:
To Students

The Cornish American Heritage Society offers the opportunity to participate in a competition to highlight Cornish Legacy in North America. Students age 19 or under who have not completed the requirements for a high school diploma may apply. A student need not have a Cornish background to enter. A $1000 prize will be awarded to the winning entry. Second and third prizes will also be awarded.

The Steven R. Curnow Competition was established to honor the memory of a fourteen-year-old boy whose Cornish ancestors settled in Colorado.  Steven Curnow died at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado in the 1999 shooting.

The Cornish American Heritage Society (CAHS) will award $1000 to the winning submission. Second and third prizes will also be awarded.  CAHS members will work with all prizewinners to help them copyright their projects and to market the projects at the Biennial Gatherings of Cornish Cousins.

The competition asks students to do research about areas in North America that were settled by Cornish immigrants or about contributions to North American culture, history or technology made by Cornish immigrants.  You may present the results of your research in a variety of methods, including (but not necessarily limited to):

• 20-25 minute Multi-media (Power Point presentation, combined video or CD, etc.)
•  Script for one-act dramatic presentation
•  Poetry (no more than 100 lines)
•  Essay of 1500 to 3500 words
•  Musical work (up to 10 minutes duration)
•  Dance work (choreography and performance up to 5 minutes duration)
• Work in Cornish dialect
•  Photographic essay
•  Painting
• Mechanical depiction of technology used by Cornish, e.g. working model of Cornish pump (must be mailable)

Please check out the ideas for topics that are included in the student packet.  Do not limit yourself to them.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE PRIMARY FOCUS FOR THIS COMPETITION IS ON RESEARCH-BASED INFORMATION. WHILE YOU MAY USE A VARIETY OF APPROACHES TO PRESENT YOUR INFORMATION, THIS IS NOT a creative writing competition.

You must cite the sources of your information. Be sure to show the connection between the impact on North America and the culture Cornish immigrants brought with them. Entries that do not cite sources or show connections will be automatically disqualified.

An attached rubric will help guide your efforts.  In addition, please note the list of resources (bibliography) and the list of places that had concentrations of Cornish settlers. These are general lists that should be supplemented by resources from the region you are researching.  Additional resources may be found on our website here.

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