Crescenta Valley High School senior Erica Choi was the winner of the 2012 Patriot’s Pen essay contest sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Choi answered the question, “Are You Proud of Your Country?” with an essay explaining why she is proud to be an American.

“My dad served in both the Korean and American armies and always told me stories about his experiences there,” she said. “I have a lot of respect for soldiers and war veterans so I thought it would be interesting to write about their importance in our lives.”

She was awarded a certificate and $200 by VFW Post #1614 representative Warren Spayth.

The annual contest invites all high school students to participate; the next contest takes place this fall with the prompt, “What I Would Tell America’s Founding Fathers.”