Eva Ungar, a sixth-grader at Solomon Schechter Day School of Bergen County, earned second place in a national essay contest on the valuable lessons she learned from a Bergen County senior citizen.

“I was uncomfortable with elders before this experience,” she wrote in her essay. “…I hadn’t spent enough time to find something we have in common and didn’t understand that just because people are older, doesn’t mean we can’t have a interesting, meaningful conversation.”

The Better2Write essay contest capped off the two year Better Together program, funded by a prominent national foundation, which brings together Jewish teens and seniors for learning, sharing, and relationship building in synagogues, day schools and senior centers. Schechter’s sixth-graders have been engaging in ongoing conversations with residents at the Five Star Premier Residences of Teaneck for the past two years about the values of bravery, social responsibility, leadership and optimism.

The Englewood resident’s entry focused on overcoming her initial discomfort with aging, and the moral imperative of caring for the elderly. Winners of the Better2Write contest have been awarded their choice of scholarships to a Jewish summer camp or gap year program and in receiving this national award, Schechter will receive a donation to their scholarship fund that will enable students with financial needs to attend its school.