By Kyle LoJacono
Staff Writer
ZEPHYRHILLS — Kaylie Caraway is not like most 11-year-olds.
She likes science fiction novels, plays piano and can speak Spanish, but how she acts is the most different.
“She has spent most of her life around adults, so she has a high level of thinking,” said Cindy Roberts, Caraway’s grandmother. “She can hold her own in conversations with adults.”
Caraway lives with Roberts and her grandfather, Lamar Roberts, in Zephyrhills. She recently won the Patel Conservatory at the David A. Straz Center for the Performing Arts Center’s essay contest.
The contest was called “Find your Wonderland: What Makes Your Family Wonderful,” which ran from October to November. Essays were 500 words or less and had to focus on what made the writer’s family special.
The conservatory promoted the program in Pasco, Hillsborough and Pinellas county schools in fifth- to eight-grade language arts classes.
There were winners for each grade level, and Caraway was the sixth-grade winner.
“I started crying because I was so happy,” Caraway said about winning the contest. “I really wanted to win, and I was so happy when I did.”
Pasco County had another winner in seventh-grader William Dugan, of New Port Richey.
Caraway attends the Lee Academy for Gifted Education in Carrollwood, a private school for children 3 years old through 12th-grade. She learned about the contest from her teacher, Melissa Tramel.
Tina James, conservatory education program manager, said 641 children entered the contest. She said judges looked for creativity in telling what makes the writer’s family special and also for grammar and spelling. James did not judge Caraway’s essay but oversaw the entire contest.
“We did the contest to both promote the performances of ‘Wonderland’ at the Starz Center and also to help kids learn how to write,” James said. “That’s why we promoted it through the school system.”
James said “Wonderland” tells the story of how Alice learns her wonderland is her family, which sparked the idea for the contest.
“My family is so special because they’ve made me believe anything is possible,” Caraway said. “They’ve taught me it’s OK to do something wrong and to not give up…So they’re very supportive of whatever I choose.”
Caraway’s mother, Allison Adams, lives in Tampa with her 7-year-old sister, Maryellen.
One of the focuses of Caraway’s essay is her family spends quality time with each other. It begins by saying they always have dinner together with the television turned off to promote family discussion. Nothing can interrupt their meal, not even their dog, Frosty.
“I read the essay after it was done and it made me cry,” Roberts said. “I’m so proud of her.”
