Rep. Dan Ankeles, D-Brunswick, welcomed Cecelia Smith, an eighth-grader at Brunswick Junior High School, to the Legislature's Transportation Committee on Tuesday, where she presented testimony in support of LD 21, Resolve, Designating Maine Turnpike Approach Road in South Portland as Samantha Smith Way.
Cecelia's eighth grade class was recently assigned a research project where the students were asked to learn about and present on an American who has changed the country for the better. Her research subject was Samantha Smith, a bold and inquisitive 10-year-old Mainer who in 1982 wrote directly to then leader of the Soviet Union, Yuri Andropov, imploring him not to start a nuclear war.
Cecelia took this assignment to the next level, embodying the lessons learned from Samantha by traveling to the State House to testify before the committee in favor of naming a portion of the Maine Turnpike in her memory. In doing so, she carried forward the important principle of speaking up for what you believe in, regardless of your age.
Contact:
Brian Lee [Ankeles], c. 305-965-2744