Two students from St. Joseph High School in Hilo have won prizes in the 34th annual Pro Patria Essay Contest sponsored by the Young Men’s Institute, a Catholic Fraternal Organization based in San Francisco with a council in Hilo.

The organization received 1,768 essays from Indiana, California and Hawaii. St. Joseph High School sent in 78 entrants, and essays were also received from Cathedral Academy and Sacred Hearts Academy in Honolulu.

The St. Joseph, Hilo, winners were Elyssa Correia who took the $800 second prize, and Faith Ozer who won the sixth prize of $200.

The YMI Hilo Francis Council financial secretary Wendell D. Serrao presented the honors at the St. Joseph School annual awards ceremony in the Walter Victor Gymnasium on May 23.

Essay entrants not receiving a prize were given certificates of accomplishment for participating.

The Young Men’s Institute was organized in 1883 in San Francisco, where its grand council headquarters is located today. Forty subordinate councils are located in California, Indiana and Hawaii.

Hilo’s Francis Council No. 573 was organized on July 1, 1901. Its headquarters are in the YMI Hall (also known as St. Joseph Parish Youth Center) in Hilo. The council meets there at 7 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month.