Ridgeite’s essay a winner in 68th Precinct essay competition

She has the write stuff!

Nada Mansour, an eighth grader at P.S./I.S. 104, tied for third place in the 68^th Precinct Community Council’s Commanding Officer for a Day essay contest for her essay on online safety.

Mansour received “a bunch of awards” from local elected officials with fanfare at the 68^th Precinct Community Council meeting held on Tuesday, April 16 at the station house.

The bright native Ridgeite wrote about internet safety. She explained that her English teacher, Paul Wiley, had assigned everyone to write an essay about the subject. Participating in the contest was optional.

Since Mansour is literarily inclined and “gets pretty good grades,” she decided to submit her essay as she does with most of her others.

Writing about the subject wasn’t hard for her. “Ever since we were little in school, we were shown a video [about keeping safe online],” she recalled. “We learned how to stay safe and keep strangers out. I already knew about the subject.”

But Mansour did not expect to do so well. “It felt pretty good,” she said of when she was told that she had won. “It was kind of shocking.”

Mansour’s essay included tips about keeping passwords safe. “No matter how much you think you’re careful about giving out information, you still have to be careful about what you tell people and what you post,” she explained. “Keep your passwords safe so you don’t get hacked. It’s crazy for them [hackers] to take over your account.”

Besides being a good student, Mansour also likes nail artistry, which is easy to see with her perfectly manicured bright blue nails, some topped with sparkles.

“I like to collect nail polish and I listen to a lot of music,” she said.

Mansour likely has bigger and better things ahead of her. This fall, she will begin classes at Brooklyn Technical High School.