Four reading champs win $1,000 scholarship in Tristar Reads contest

Elijah Riggs reading (Photo by the Riggs family)

Harpeth Middle School seventh-grader Elijah Riggs didn’t spend his summer break like most students.

While his classmates were playing sports or video games, Riggs logged in an average of eight hours each day reading.

“I love going into the books and feeling what they feel and getting to think like they do,” said Riggs about his favorite part of reading.

Those hours spent with a book earned Riggs the Overall Winner of this year’s Tristar Reads contest, and he’s not the only reading champ in the house. Riggs’ sister, Harpeth Middle School sixth-grader Sylvia Riggs won the reading contest’s Middle School Student category, according to a news release.

Sylvia Riggs reading (Photo by the Riggs family)

Sylvia says she read an average of 7 hours a day over the summer.

“I like to learn new vocabulary words because I want to be an author one day,” said Sylvia Riggs.

Education advocacy organization Tennesseans for Student Success created Tristar Reads in 2016 to invite all Tennessee students entering grades K-12 to spend at least 20 minutes each day reading a book. Students participating in this year's program combined to log nearly 680 thousand reading minutes from May 28 to August 4, 2024.

The Tennessee Firefly is a product of and supported by Tennesseans for Student Success.

Delia Sigler (Photo by the Sigler family)

“Reading is a foundational part of every child's academic journey, and we created Tristar Reads to ensure students are spending time with books during the break and not falling into the summer slide that sets too many children back each year," said Tennesseans for Student Success President and CEO Lana Skelo. “The strong participation we saw this year is another sign of the improving education landscape that's occurring all across our state. Each student who competed in Tristar Reads will be better prepared for the fall semester because they laid the groundwork for success this summer." 

The Riggs siblings each took home a $1,000 scholarship for winning their contest category.  Tristar Reads is also awarding $1,000 scholarships to the High School Student winner, Millington’s Rosemark Academy tenth-grader Delia Sigler, who said her favorite book this summer was Powerless by Lauren Roberts.

“I read whenever I had a chance at home or in the car and tried to have a book with me wherever I went,” said Sigler. “I enjoy reading because a book tells a story built from the imagination of its author. I love seeing how a character develops and how an author ties together the plot.”

The contest also provided a $1,000 scholarship to Elementary School Student winner, Knox County second-grade homeschooler Ellie Martin. She said her favorite book this summer was "Ellie's story: A Puppy Tale."

Ellie Martin reading (Photo by the Martin family)

“I just like to read,” said Martin. “I feel like I'm in all the stories and apart of them, reading brings you to a different world.”