Yousef Saleh, a fifth-grader at E.M. Rollins Elementary, accepts a certificate Friday recognizing him as a national finalist in a writing contest run by Nationwide Learning of Topeka, Kan. Academically and Intellectually Gifted teacher Inez Bostic presents the award during a ceremony recognizing more than 120 fourth- and fifth-graders at Rollins who published their own books through a Nationwide program this year. Flanking Yousef are Assistant Principal Willie Fuller and Principal William Bowers. Bostic said she has participated in the program for at least five years, and Yousef is the first of her students to be recognized as a national finalist. His book, “My Journey to America,” tells the story of his immigration to the United States from Yemen.