Thirteen-year-old Amelia Cobar recently earned first place in the statewide “Imagine This” California agricultural story-writing contest sponsored by the California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom. Her winning entry was selected from submissions by seventh graders across California and published in the 2026 edition of “Imagine This… Stories Inspired by Agriculture.”

Amelia, a student at Legacy Christian Academy, was honored during California’s Ag Day celebration at the California State Capitol, where she received a plaque and medal for her achievement. During the event, she also read excerpts from her story, “The Wish of Friendship,” which follows a young girl named Melanie and a snarky fairy who learns about the hard work involved in growing oranges.

After Amelia won at the state level, students Itzel Carrasco and Aylin Carrasco Morales from Monterey Trail High School were selected to illustrate her story. The pair researched farming techniques, hairstyles, and artistic styles before sketching scenes from the book. Using pencils, colored pencils, pens, watercolor, and heavy paper, they carefully illustrated Amelia’s scenes. “It was really cool to see my book come to life,” Amelia says.

Amelia drew inspiration for the story from her mother, Cece Cobar, who grew up playing in a 20-acre orange orchard. While learning about the real-life process of growing seedless oranges, Amelia decided to add a touch of fantasy by introducing a fairy character. In the story, the fairy grants Melanie one wish to create the perfect orange before Christmas vacation ends.

Originally, Amelia had set the story during summer break, but after learning from her mother that oranges are harvested in winter, she revised the setting to make the story more realistic. Agricultural experts who reviewed her manuscript also taught her about grafting seedless orange trees in nurseries, prompting another revision. “I added that part into my story to make it more factual,” Amelia says.

Sylvia Collins, Amelia’s writing teacher at Legacy Christian Academy, encouraged her students to enter the contest, which challenged participants to write a 750-word children’s story centered on agriculture. Around 20 students submitted entries, and she enjoyed reading all the stories. Her students usually write essays and research papers, so she really liked seeing them be more creative. “It was a fun activity for them to explore that side of their brain,” Collins says. “It’s fun to be creative and explore another avenue of writing besides essays and research.”

When asked what made Amelia’s story stand out, Collins praised both her work ethic and writing ability. “Amelia is a very hardworking student,” she said. “She has a way of describing things by showing them through her words rather than simply telling what happened.”

Although Amelia enjoys writing and hopes to continue it as a part-time career someday, her greatest passion is space. She dreams of studying astrophysics and learning more about black holes and the mysteries of the universe. At home, Amelia enjoys spending time with her parents, Ken and Cece, her younger brother Joey, and their black-and-white tuxedo cat, Mini, who adopted the family after they began feeding her. The close-knit family stays active with sports and activities. Amelia enjoys figure skating and diving. Ironically, Amelia learned she had won the statewide competition while out shopping with her family. She asked Joey to pinch her to make sure it was really happening.