SIDNEY — A Fairlawn senior is getting ready to soar to new heights.

Annie Stemen, 17, daughter of Amy and Tony Stemen, of Sidney, is the winner of the Young Eagles essay contest sponsored by the U.S. Experimental Aircraft Association. Her prize? A flight with stunt pilot Sean D. Tucker on Thursday, June 22, at the Dayton Air Show.

“I’m giddy,” said Annie. “He’s super famous.”

“I’m excited for her,” said Amy. “But especially when she lands (after the flight).”

Annie learned about the contest in March when judges for the essay program visited Elizabeth Maxson’s English class.

“They told us this would be the last year we could participate in the contest,” said Annie. “I decided I wanted to do it. It sounded so cool.”

Each contestant had to write a 300 word essay. They were given two topics to pick from: “What I think my first flight will be like” or “What the flight means to me.”

“We received 50 essays,” said Shiela Wallace, who was one of the judges. “We could only pick one winner. Most of the contestants combined the two questions for their essay.

“This is the fourth year we have held the contest at the Dayton Air Show,” she said. “We’ve had thee girls and one boy win the contest. I think this shows that aviation is not a man’s world anymore.”

Wallace said Tucker, who is the honorary chairman of the Young Eagles program, will be giving Annie her ride at the air show. Other pilots at different air shows also provide winners of the contests for those shows.

Three judges reviewed each entry, said Wallace. Each judge individually scored each essay on a five point scale. All the scores were added together to determine who the winner of the contest would be.

“Annie was the only person to have a perfect score this year,” said Wallace.

Wallace said when she reads the essays, she’s looking at its content and how the writer developed his or her thoughts. She said during the school visits, students are encouraged to write a persuasive essay telling the judges why they should win.

“We tell them to use what you know when writing the essay,” said Wallace. “We tell them about writing a good essay and a bad essay.

“Last year, a teacher made it a class assignment to write the essay. She then sent them all in. One boy wrote that he was only writing the essay because his teacher was making him. He said he didn’t like planes and didn’t want to leave the ground.”

Another essay, she said, tugged at the judge’s heartstrings but wasn’t well written.

“A nine-year-old girl wrote she’d like to win the contest with Mr. Tucker to get to fly in an airplane. She wanted to fly in the airplane because ‘my mommy died six years ago of cancer and if I get in the plane, I will be closer to my mommy in heaven.’

“I want the writer to give me something to move me when I read the essay,”said Wallace. “We had others submitted this year that were good, but nobody’s was as good as Annie’s was. I liked that she put a quote in it. She put research into it.”

Annie said she’s looking forward to the flight.

“I’ve got a countdown on my phone (to the flight). This is going to be a once in a lifetime experience,” Annie said. “I have to showup at 10:30 a.m. Thursday and be ready to fly. I’m really excited.”

“She didn’t tell us about the essay,” said Amy. “She mentioned that someone had been there (at the school) from the air show. She just did it (wrote the essay). I never read it before she sent it in.”

While becoming a pilot isn’t in her future, Annie feels the experience will help keep her focused on her goal of being accepted into a musical theater program at college.

“She’s been singing since she could talk,”said Amy.

Her love of singing got her in trouble in kindergarten when she would sing. The first musical she saw was “The Sound of Music.”

“I’ve always gravitated toward music,” said Annie. “My favorite singers are Barbra Streisand and Patti LaPone. I’ve watched “Hamilton” in Chicago and I’m going to New York this summer to some Broadway shows.”

She’s the founder of Heart & Soul of Shelby County, a performing group composed of six people. Three of the members are from Fairlawn School, and one each from Jackson Center, Anna and Piqua. They recently performed a 50s tribute at the Fairlawn Alumni banquet.

Annie said she was involved with sports through the eighth-grade as a member of the volleyball team and cheerleading squad.

“I got awake up call going into my freshman year. On the first day of school I said I was going to focus on music. That’s going to be my career,” said Annie.

In addition to her music, Annie also volunteers at the animal shelter.

“I want to make a difference in my community,” she said.

Annie’s family will be watching Thursday from the ground as she takes flight with Tucker. Various Fairlawn School officials have also been invited to watch the flight.