Braden River High junior wins Black History Month essay contest

Aaron Gordon has always loved music, but when it comes to reading sheet music, he struggles.

So when he read about entertainer Ray Charles — who went totally blind by the age of 7 due to juvenile glaucoma — learning to read sheet music in Braille, it impressed him.

“I don’t know how that works at all,” Gordon said. “I can barely read sheet music myself and I can see.”

It impressed him so much that he read more about the famous singer. That came in handy in January when East County's Gordon, a 16-year-old junior at Braden River High, heard about a statewide student essay contest from his theater teacher, Tabetha Walter.

The theme of the contest was Honoring African American Contributions to Florida’s Success and entries were accepted in February during Black History Month.

Gordon picked Charles for his essay and went to work.

Governor's praise

On Feb. 27, Gordon was invited to the Governor's mansion in Tallahassee as Gov. Ron DeSantis and First Lady Casey DeSantis announced the winners of both the Black History Month student art and essay contests. He won the essay contest's Grade 11 division along with Manuel Perez.

The other essay winners were Kei’Ani McQuown (Grade 5), Vanessa Viera (Grade 5), Gabriel Brown (Grade 8), and Evangeline Baldwin (Grade 7).

The winners received a two-year Florida College Plan scholarship provided by the Florida Prepaid College Foundation and a $100 gift card for school supplies. The scholarship is good at any Florida college or university.

The contest was made possible through a collaboration between the Department of Education, Volunteer Florida, the Florida Lottery and the Florida Prepaid College Foundation.

“It is important our students learn about American history and the contributions that African American leaders have made to the success of our state,” DeSantis said in a release. “I am proud of these students who went above and beyond to apply what they have learned to these contests.”

Manny Diaz, Jr., the commissioner of education, said in a release, "Their submissions were inspiring and an example of the important work that our teachers do every day to inspire our students through knowledge.”

Gordon said Charles was a natural pick for his essay.

“He experienced a lot of struggles that I’ve never experienced, like with his disabilities and with his African American heritage,” Gordon said. “I’ve been reading about him and it’s an amazing story, how he overcame all of his struggles and found success.” 

Gordon said he has played guitar since the age of 8 and has also dabbled in the bass and drums. He has also been involved in the musical program EveryOneRocks since middle school.

Gordon said it’s important to acknowledge the impact Charles had on the nation's music, an impact that remains long after his death in 2004.

Pleasant surprise

The win in the essay contest was a shock to Gordon, who said he actually forgot he had submitted an entry because he was concentrating on preparation for an SAT exam.

“It was very surprising," he said. "I thought it was a different Aaron Gordon at first, I was like, 'There’s no way I won.'” 

His father, Business Observer Editor Mark Gordon, had received an email stating that his son had won the contest.

Aaron Gordon said that his favorite part of his essay was the introduction. He talked about Charles’ disability in the middle of the essay and wrapped it up with his legacy at the end.

He said the storytelling aspect of his writing made his piece stand out. He had previously won a contest for his comedic play “Insert Play Name Here” which he submitted to Florida Studio Theatre’s Write a Play program. He wrote six pages of a script in approximately 30 minutes. 

“When I have an idea, I can kind of crank it out quickly," he said. “I have it planned out in my head, so it’s kind of already written. I just need to put it out on paper.” 

Gordon has written seven plays to date, with two of them being performed. “Remember the Darlings” was performed for thespian troupe 8474’s Competitive One Act. 

His play “Channel Surfing” is currently a finalist in the Theatre Odyssey Short Playwriting Competition. It will be performed at the Jane B. Cook Theatre FSU Center for the Performing Arts May 10-11. 

For his essay, Gordon found it more difficult to write and said there was a lot more planning and structure. 

“I definitely give a conversational sentence, so I use a lot of dashes, semicolons, that type of stuff so I feel like I’m just talking to someone,” Gordon said. “That comes from my playwriting experience. I always want to make sure it feels real and like a conversation I’m having and not some fancy robot script.”

Inspiration from Dad

He said his dad's occupation influenced him to pursue his love for writing. 

“I love the challenge of it,” Gordon said. “It's exciting to figure out how to start telling a story and then what’s the best way to hook into the story, then how do you finish it.”

Mark Gordon said he knew his son showed signs of creativity but didn’t know until recently that this is something he would want to pursue. 

“Did I think he was going to be a writer? Not exactly, but definitely something creative,” Mark Gordon said. 

Aaron Gordon's top three choices for college are the University of Florida, Florida State University and the University of South Florida. He described Florida State University as his “dream school” due to its arts and writing programs.

“I want to become a playwright eventually so I want to move out to New York and just try to do it,” he. “I want to try to make it.” 

“I definitely see him doing something in the creative arts world whether it’s playwriting or acting or being part of performances. It’s certainly where his head and his heart is at,” Mark Gordon said. “We’re so proud of him and happy that he is pursuing his dreams.”