Here is a listing of previous winners of our Nationwide Braille Readers Are Leaders (BRAL) Reading Contest.
Nationwide BRAL Contest Winners, 2017-2018
Grades K – 1:
- First Place: Cameron Gooden – Carterville, IL
- Second Place: Ander Mielke – Havre, MT
- Third Place: Kenji Torihara – Chicago, IL
- Honorable Mention: Anastasia Marinos – Burr Ridge, IL
Grades 2 – 3:
- First Place: Aisha Safi – Chevy Chase, MD
- Second Place: Preston Rose – Eagan, MN
- Third Place: Anna Sayles – Peoria, IL
- Honorable Mention: Ely Giraldo – Staunton, VA
Grades 4 – 5:
- First Place: Jonah Rao – Columbia, MD
- Second Place: Isaiah Rao – Columbia, MD
- Third Place: Karli Copes – Oak Grove, LA
Grades 6 – 8:
- First Place: Holly Connor – St. Louis, MO
- Second Place: Nicholas Tarver – Many, LA
- Third Place: Anthony Spears – Mattoon, IL
Grades 9 – 12:
- First Place: Maria-Luisa Montero-Olivero – Marietta, GA
- Second Place: Marie Presume – Staunton, VA
- Third Place: Kaelyn Kinlaw – Staunton, VA
KELLY DOTY AWARDS
The Kelly Doty Awards of $25 are given to students who overcome special challenges to achieve fluency in Braille reading. Such challenges include, but are not limited to, having disabilities in addition to blindness or being an English-language learner. The following students received 2018 Kelly Doty Awards.
- Alan Bunay – Spring Valley, NY
- Miracle Douglas – Peoria, IL
- Isaiah Rao – Columbia, MD
- Jonah Rao – Columbia, MD
- Aisha Safi – Chevy Chase, MD
- Nicholas Tarver – Many, LA