(Editorial - Graphic Illustration - MetroCreativeConnection)

Think about how many times, during your elementary school years, an adult asked you what you wanted to be when you grew up. For many of us, there were the standard shoot-for-the-moon answers (sometimes maybe literally), but also a real beginning of pondering what was possible.

That’s why opportunities such as the 2025 SMART529 “When I Grow Up” student and teacher essay contest are so important.

West Virginia State Treasurer Larry Pack has announced essays can now be submitted, and the deadline for the contest is Feb. 28.

For students, there is the chance to win as much as $5,000 in SMART529 savings for higher education. For teachers, there is the chance to win a $2,500 cash prize.

Writing for the contest should help even the youngest of students begin to understand that perhaps options are not as limited as they may have believed. It may also help them understand “higher education” does not necessarily mean a four-year college or university. Big dreams can start with an apprenticeship, trade school or community college education, too.

“My hope is that this contest inspires our West Virginia children to begin thinking about potential career opportunities,” Pack said. “My office wants to hear from students who are starting to explore how they can achieve their dreams by attending college or a trade school.”

Parents and guardians who may be giving a little guidance to students writing these essays must not say anything is impossible. There are West Virginia natives doing big things in Hollywood, Broadway, in the music industry, making strides in prestigious research institutions and in space … we’re everywhere. Even the sky is not the limit.

Incredibly important work about which one can be proud — and through which one can support a family and build bright futures for themselves and their communities can begin in an apprenticeship program.

There is a way, here for young people to achieve almost any dream. SMART529 is an important support for them; encouraging them to talk to us and explore those dreams is another. Encourage them (and their teachers) to write something for the contest — you never know where it might lead.