SALEM — As Barack Obama got ready on Tuesday morning, before he was to take the oath of office, Martin Luther King Jr. appeared to him. During the brief but profound interaction, King imparted advice and warmly shook Obama's hand.

That is the scene imagined by fifth-grade student Niamh Quinn-Tierney, who wrote an essay tackling the question: "What advice would Martin Luther King Jr. give to President-elect Barack Obama?"

"Those in power have a responsibility to help other people the most," King says in Niamh's essay. "Think of it as ripples in the water. When one person helps another, it spreads like ripples in water. The more powerful the person or the country, the stronger and bigger the ripples."

Niamh's (Her name is pronounced Neeve) essay won first place in the elementary category of the annual Salem State College Martin Luther King Jr. essay contest.

She will be among four students presenting their essays during the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Celebration on Monday, Jan. 26, at the college.

The winners will also meet with college President Patricia Meservey in her office prior to the invocation.

"I'll have to read it again," said Niamh, 11, a student at Saltonstall School.

Niamh had a test run on Inauguration Day when she read her essay aloud in the school auditorium.

"I thought I was reading too fast," she said, "but they said I was fine."

In her essay, Niamh writes that King urges nonviolence and tells Obama that there is always room for improvement.

"Firstly you must remember you can always make things better," she wrote. "There is always another stair to climb, another book to bind, another house to build and another plate to fill."

Local schools that submitted essays to the contest include Horace Mann Lab School, Saltonstall and Marblehead Middle School. Each school had its own contest first, and the winning essay was submitted to the college for the final round of competition.

Salem State received 10 essays in all this year.

The three other winners are Fiordaliza Mena, a junior at Lawrence High School; Joke Joaloso, a seventh-grader from Lynn; and Daphnee George, a student at Salem State College.

Q&A with NIAMH Quinn-Tierney

Why did you write the essay?

"It was actually a homework assignment that our whole class did for Ms. (Sue) Brown."

Why did you write it as a conversation between Martin Luther King Jr. and Barack Obama?

"I like to write fiction, and I usually write it in dialogue. ... When my mom read it, she didn't think it was an essay, so we started freaking out."

Why do you like fiction?

"I just like how you can use your imagination. I have a very active imagination."

Are any of the quotes in your essay actual King quotes?

"I didn't want to use any because I knew a lot of other kids would, and because I didn't think he would say the same things over and over again."

How long did it take you to write it?

"I was in a rush. It was due Thursday, and I had to go skiing."

What was your reaction to winning?

"I'd actually been having a bad day, so it was nice, and my dad got really excited and was shouting."

Besides writing fiction, do you have other hobbies?

"I like swimming."

Are you excited to read the essay on Monday at Salem State College?

"After (reading it at school) yesterday, I know I can probably do it. My whole class will be there, so that should be good."

Want to go?

What: Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Celebration

When: Monday, Jan. 26, 11 a.m. convocation, 6 p.m. candlelight vigil at Ellison Campus Center

Who: Convocation speaker is the Rev. Dr. Bruce H. Wall, senior pastor of Global Ministries Christian Church

Where: Main Stage Auditorium, Lafayette Street

Admission: Free and open to the public