Carla J. Snook, Maryland's winner in the annual Veterans of Foreign Wars Voice of Democracy script writing contest, is a teen-ager with a social conscience.
The 17-year-old Westminster High School senior wants to go to medical school, but not for the potential six-figure income. She would like to be a family practitioner in an area where medical care is scarce, perhaps in the inner city where people have to use the hospital emergency room as their family doctor.
It bothers her that some people can't get the help they need. "I don't want to be a rich doctor," she said. "I want to be an effective doctor."
Carla's winning speech will provide a $1,000 college scholarship from the Maryland VFW. She will receive an additional scholarship of at least $1,000 if she places among the top 40 at the VFW national conference in Washington next month.
She entered the contest after her Westminster High speech and debate teacher assigned speeches on the VFW's topic, "My Vision for America," and offered extra credit for contest entries.
"I was really hesitant to enter mine because my class had really good speeches that were more political, like what to do with the deficit," Carla said. "But it worked out well."
The scholarship and a $200 cash prize are nice rewards, and Carla is looking forward to going to Washington and meeting President Clinton, if his schedule permits. But what struck her as most important about the honor is, "that someone agrees with what you have to say."
In Carla's America, a return to self-respect would lead to a return to respect for others. Values and morals would make it easier to avoid bad decisions. "If you have values, you can avoid a lot of difficult situations, like getting AIDS and stuff," she said.
A set of values doesn't guarantee that ethical decisions will be easy, Carla acknowledged. In her ethics class, students debated the conflicting values involved in deciding whether to turn in a friend who, for example, cheats on a test. Carla conceded that she doesn't report students who smoke in the bathroom, "because I'm the v.p.'s kid."
Her father, Carl W. Snook, is an assistant principal at Westminster High. She said attending a school where a parent is an administrator doesn't cause any other conflicts. In fact, she rarely sees her father during the school day.
Carla's mother, Kathryn Snook, teaches in the county school system's alternative education program.
Carla has narrowed her college choices to Mount St. Mary's, Elizabethtown College, University of Maryland Baltimore County or Loyola College. She has been accepted at the first three schools and is awaiting a decision from Loyola.