WEST HARTFORD — “Immigration and the American Jewish Experience” is the theme of the fifth annual Jewish life and culture essay contest sponsored by the Fishman Family Fund for American Jewish History and Jewish Communal Leadership at the Maurice Greenberg Center for Judaic Studies, University of Hartford.

Students in grades 1 through college are encouraged to submit either an essay or a creative work reflecting on some aspect of the Jewish immigrant experience in America and how that experience has played a role in the evolving definition of what it means to be an American. Students may choose to focus on the role of immigration in the growth of the American Jewish community, the topic of Jews and refugees, notable Jewish immigrants who have made a contribution to American life, or the current ‘refugee crisis’ and the American Jewish response.

Submissions will be judged based on creativity, content, quality of writing, clarity of argument, and originality. Awards will be granted at five levels: (1) Grades 1-2 (class project); (2) Grades 3-5 (individual submissions or class projects); (3) Grades 6-8 (individual submissions); (4) Grades 9-12 (individual submissions; (5) University of Hartford undergraduates (individual submissions).

Format: The essay or creative work (short story, poem, video, powerpoint, prezi, or work of art) must be original and unpublished. Length of essay/short story should not exceed 10 pages (typed, double- spaced). Poetry should not exceed 100 lines. Works of art may be created in any medium. Only one submission per student is permitted.

Deadline for submissions is Friday, April 1. Winners will be notified by April 15 and will receive their awards at the Fishman Family Prize program in American Jewish History to be held May 2 at the University of Hartford.

Submissions should be in the form of a hard copy, accompanied by a CD or flash drive; and should be sent to the Maurice Greenberg Center for Judaic Studies, Auerbach 110, University of Hartford, 200 Bloomfield Avenue, West Hartford, CT 06117; electronic copies may also be submitted to mgcjs@hartford.edu.