A young Voice of Democracy

Isaiah Qualls with his parents and his award.

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Story Published: Jan 24, 2010 at 8:48 AM PDT

Story Updated: Jan 24, 2010 at 8:48 AM PDT

By Anne Harding

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MOSCOW – They are award-winning words, written by a Moscow teen.

Isaiah Qualls, is a home-schooled freshman who won the state's VFW Voice of Democracy scholarship. The topic this year was "Does America Still Have Heroes?" Isaiah said his grandmother and his mother's friend helped inspire his topic choice.

"I wrote about military wives and how they're heroes," said Isaiah. "How the military couldn't survive without the support of their wives and families."

Isaiah earned a $1,000 college scholarship for winning at the state level. Coming from a large family, he said the money will help him further his education at the University of Idaho.

VFW Commander Don Meyer said they have entries in our area every year for the scholarship, but said he knew this has winning potential.

"I've been doing this contest for 15 years, so unless it was an extraordinary essay, I had a pretty good idea it might be the one," said Meyer.

Now Isaiah will head to the national Voice of Democracy competition in Washington DC, where the winner will walk away with a $30,000 scholarship. It is a trip he's excited for.

"I think it would be really cool to go see the Korean War Memorial," said Qualls. "That's where my grandfather fought and he almost lost his life. I think that would be really interesting and inspiring."

And while Isaiah said he doesn't know how his words will hold up at the national level, Meyer said he has a feeling it will be a winning essay.

"They look for different criteria every year, but I think he's got a pretty good chance of being in the top 10," said Meyer.

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