We would like to congratulate Brother Martin senior Dillan LaFrance '26 for winning the 2025 National Junior Tennis & Learning (NJTL) Essay Contest! 

The following information is derived from Tennisrecruiting.net:

Dillan LaFrance endured a whirlwind of emotions when he learned he was a winner of the 2025 National Junior Tennis & Learning (NJTL) Essay Contest and would be getting a free trip to New York City.

“I was surprised. I was ecstatic. I was very happy,” said the 17-year-old LaFrance. “I couldn’t believe it. I actually had to ask my parents to make sure it was true.”

LaFrance was one of eight high-school aged students who won the 2025 NJTL Essay Contest, which is run by the USTA Foundation and sponsored by Deloitte. The winners, selected from over 400 entries nationwide, traveled to New York City and took part in a variety of events and activities during US Open Fan Week.

This year’s essay contestants answered the prompt, “Reflect on a time when you experienced a challenge, setback, or failure. What lessons did you learn, and how did the experience shape your personal growth?

LaFrance is entering his senior year at Brother Martin High School in New Orleans. He helped the Crusader tennis team win the state championship in 2024. Participating in tennis has helped LaFrance develop discipline, which was a topic of his essay, and provided him with vital life skills he knows will benefit him in college.

“I want to major in electrical engineering, and I do have interest in playing tennis in college,” he said. “But I want to make sure that it's a school that I can find the right fit for me academically most of all.”

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