Two Fayette middle school students are winners in the 2010 Who’s My Neighbor Essay and Art Contest sponsored by the Istanbul Center in Atlanta.

Dylan Tiller, a seventh grader at Rising Starr Middle,

took fourth place in the essay part of the competition while Mamie Smith, an eighth grader at Bennett’s Mill Middle, placed sixth in art.

Both students were honored during an awards ceremony on March 5 at Oglethorpe University’s Conant Performing Arts Center.

The competition is open to middle and high school students. A total of 10 winners are selected in each category (art and essay) at both the middle and high school level. All totaled, 2,002 submissions were received from 220 teachers in 140 schools in 51 counties throughout the state. The main goal of the contest is to promote multicultural awareness and world peace.