Monroe middle school students awarded after winning international competition

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - A group of Monroe middle school students were awarded $1,000 Thursday after winning an international independent research project competition, according to the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes.

The competition for LMC’s Discovery award featured a research project for students to choose a person from history whose accomplishments are unknown to the public with the chance to win up to a $6,000 award.

The winning group from Monroe included three sixth grade students who based their research on Cordelia Harvey, a caregiver during the civil war.

“Real heroes tower and guide,” LMC Founder Lowell Milken said. “But their stories need to be discovered and heard. And when we do, we have the opportunity to motivate new generations to aspire to values that are essential during the challenging times we face individually, as a nation and as a world community.”

Harvey is characterized in the students’ documentary as a “Wisconsin Angel,” who gave treatments to soldiers in makeshift field hospitals, according to LMC. The students highlighted Harvey’s effort to secure state funding for soldier hospitals away from war zones to improve the lives of soldiers and their families.

The top prize winner was a high school junior from Nebraska. She won $6,000, LMC said.