Remembrance Day has always held a special place in the heart of an Edison School teen, so it’s no wonder her poem beat out dozens of others in a Legion contest.
Grade 12 student Taylor Tulissi’s poem placed first at the command level, beating out her peers across Alberta and the Northwest Territories in the Legion’s Poster and Literary Contest. The contests are organized by Legion branches and challenge students to write essays, poems and draw pictures with a remembrance theme.
“I did not expect to get first,” Tulissi said.
Tulissi’s poem was about the small things people can do to honour those who served in war including wearing a poppy and taking a minute of silence to reflect. She received her award at a ceremony held by the Royal Canadian Legion Turner Valley Branch #78 on May 11.
“I always tried my best with these,” she said. “For me it’s taking the time to remember and respect what these people did for us to live the life we do today. I know that nothing would be the same if they didn’t put their lives on the line for us.”
Tulissi has a family connection to war. Her great-grandfather was at Pearl Harbour on Dec. 7, 1941 when it was attacked by Imperial Japanese forces.
“He wasn’t on the ships at the time, he was on land, but he did make it through that,” she said. “That affected him for a long while after. He died when I was four or five. We were very close when I was young.”
Tulissi was also inspired by a speech a war veteran made at her school’s Remembrance Day ceremony last year.
“He had a very good message about how we don’t have to do much just keep their memory alive,” she said. “He talked about his experience after he came home and how he was a different person and he knows now that he has to respect what other people fight for.”
Tulissi’s sister Katlyn received honourable mention at the command level in the senior poster contest. She used alcohol-based markers to draw a female soldier with a Canadian flag and poppies and the quotation “Freedom is never free.”
Katlyn said war veterans had to pay a price for the freedom we enjoy today and she wanted to portray that in her drawing.
“It’s nice to feel that someone has recognized you that’s not someone who would usually recognize you,” she said of placing. “It’s someone who actually served and respects what you did.”
Edison School student Chloe Crump was awarded an honourable mention in the intermediate colour poster. Her piece was inspired by two great grandfathers who served as airline mechanics in the First World War.
“It’s significant to me because a lot of my family’s history had to do with the military,” she said. “It’s important to me to talk about my family and stuff that has to do with that. Winning is super, super cool but it wasn’t what drove me to do this.”
Also placing in the command level was Bailey Neilson of Red Deer Lake School in junior poetry and Lindsay James from Edison School in senior essay.
Comrade Gordon Day said he’s proud of the work students in the branch’s 11 schools did, and was impressed to see 630 submissions.
Day said the contest fosters remembrance in young people and continues a long-standing tradition that honours the military heritage.
The former Edison School teacher said during his first year as a teacher the staff agreed to make the Legion’s Poster and Literary Contest compulsory.
“That has pretty well continued,” he said. “It’s just so we don’t forget why we are here and why it’s important.”
The school was presented with an outstanding award for the number, quality and success of entries. Red Deer Lake School received gold, Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School (STS) silver and Oilfields and Heritage Heights schools bronze.
Branch winners of the Legion’s Poster and Literary Contest are as follows:
Black and White Poster:
Junior black and white poster: Carys Liberty of Red Deer Lake School, first; Katelyn Krulc of Red Deer Lake School, second; Felicia Jackson of STS, third.
Intermediate: Sandus Mirza of Edison School, first; Connor Johanson of Edison School, second; Taylor Burton of Edison School, third.
Senior: Laura Kubat of Edison School, first; Shannah Gordan of Edison School, second; Brandon Isabella of Edison School, third.
Colour poster:
Junior: Mason Carlson of STS, first; Bailey Neilson of Red Deer Lake School, second; Mya Swan of Red Deer Lake School, third.
Intermediate: Chloe Crump of Edison School, first; Hayley Miller of Oilfields High School, second; Lindsay Murray of Edison School, third.
Senior: Katlyn Tulissi, first; Lucy Urban of Edison School, second; Emma Taylor of Edison School, third.
Poetry
Junior: Bailey Neilson, first; Luke Normandeau of Red Deer Lake School, second; Jack Evans of Edison School, third.
Intermediate: Caleb White of Red Deer Lake School, first; Eliot Giachetta of Red Deer Lake School, second; Tahilia Danard of Edison School, third.
Senior: Taylor Tulissi, first; Aleksandra Krawzayk of Edison School, second; Steven Bergeon of Edison School, third.
Essay
Junior: Bryson Hajee of STS, first; Abby Court of Edison School, second; Xander Zwanepoel of Edison School, third.
Intermediate: Lucas Miller of Edison School, first; Alyssa Kocsar of Heritage Heights School, second; Ibrahim Mirza of Edison School, third.
Senior: James Lindsay and Austin Langdon of Edison School, first; Samuel Kamal and Alex Fendyur of Edison School, second; Joshua Gan of Edison School, third.
