Lafayette residente among state finalists in competition

LAFAYETTE — Victoria Pizzulo, a junior at Sussex Technical School, has been selected to represent Lafayette Township as the winning entry in the Louis Bay II Future Municipal Leaders Scholarship Competition.

“She is one of the state finalists and we are very proud of her for the essay that she wrote,” said Committeeman Richard Hughes.

At the May 20 Lafayette Township municipal meeting, Mayor John Hughes presented Pizzulo with a certificate for her essay.

The statewide scholarship competition centers on the theme “What My Mayor and Governing Body Do Best” and hopes to encourage involvement in the township and municipal leadership. Each municipality chooses a winning essay and submits it to the state competition. Typically about 300 to 400 essays are submitted from various municipalities to the state. From there, the state chooses 15 finalists and then ultimately, three for a scholarship. Pizzulo was chosen as one of the top 15.

“After driving by the municipal building one day, I noticed they didn’t have a state flag so I was speaking to my mom about it, and, long story short, they got one," Pizzolo said. "So I felt like I was making my difference in the community,” said Pizzolo.

In 2006, Christina Smith, who represented Lafayette, was one of the three statewide scholarship winners.