North Carolina Poetry Society 2023 Student Award Winners
Student Contests Director, Jonathan Giles, is pleased to announce the North Carolina Poetry Society student award winners for the 2023 season. Such active participation in the contests is a testament to the teachers, parents, mentors, guardians and grandparents who continue to promote the writing of poetry, even in this period of difficult class- and virtual-instruction. The following award winners will have their poems published in the spring Pinesong anthology. We thank all the students who participated and look forward to our Spring Student Poetry Reading featuring many of the submitted poems.
The Undergraduate Award – Freshman through Senior Year
Judge: Allison Hutchcraft
First Place: “Heritage” by Gabbie Romano, Senior, UNC-Chapel Hill
Second Place: “Drought Year” by William Crooke, Senior, Western Carolina University
Third Place: “Miscarriage” by Tiffany Melenzio, Senior, UNC-Chapel Hill
First Honorable Mention: “Mommy” by Cora Hicks, Junior, High Point University
Second Honorable Mention: “Well Wishes” by Serena Fick, Junior, Warren Wilson College
Third Honorable Mention: “Mens Sextilius: Now, August” by Sophie Hass, Senior, UNC-Chapel Hill
The Sherry Pruitt Award – Students 10th through 12th Grades
Judge: Clark Hotzman
First Place: “I’ll See You There” by Mallendi Bete, 10th Grade, Franklin School of Innovation, Asheville, NC
Second Place: “Before Zoloft” by Gabi Nolan, 11th Grade, Charlotte Latin School, Charlotte, NC
Third Place: “Birds” by Shay Hill, 10th Grade, Marvin Ridge High School, Waxhaw, NC
First Honorable Mention: “Lawnmower” by Ethan Randall, 11th Grade, Charlotte Latin School, Charlotte, NC
Second Honorable Mention: “Aomori” by Suna Erdin, 11th Grade, Charlotte Latin School, Charlotte, NC
Third Honorable Mention: “Suburban Baedeker” by Maria Workman, 12th Grade, J. H. Rose High School, Greenville, NC
The Mary Chilton Award – Students 6th through 9th Grades
Judge: Florence Nash
First Place: “golden days” by Selah Greer, 8th Grade, Hardin Park, Boone, NC
Second Place: “The Mother of All Noise” by Asher Stanley, 9th Grade, J. M. Case High School, Greenville, NC
Third Place: “39 Steps” by Elias Francis, 7th Grade, Carolina Friends School, Chapel Hill, NC
First Honorable Mention: “Henna” by Kiran Singh, 8the Grade, Cary Academy, Cary, NC
Second Honorable Mention: “Stall” by Jolin Cheng, 9th Grade, Charlotte Latin School, Charlotte, NC
Third Honorable Mention: “The alabaster window” by Annabel Haynes, 7th Grade, Lakewood Montessori Middle School, Durham, NC
The Joan Scott Memorial Environmental Award – Students 5th through 8th Grades
Judge: Cordelia Hanemann
First Place: “Gone, Lost, Taken” by Mila Giardino, 6th Grade, West Millbrook Magnet Middle School, Raleigh, NC
Second Place: “Where do you wander” by August Gordon, 7th Grade, Franklin School of Innovation, Asheville, NC
Third Place: “Nature’s Will” by Sanjana Solanki, 8th Grade, West Cary Middle School, Cary, NC
First Honorable Mention: “The wonders of this world” by Aarushi Areti, 7th Grade, Peak Charter Academy, Apex, NC
Second Honorable Mention: “That Crocodile on a Sunday Afternoon” by Dylan Zhang, 8th Grade, Hanes Magnet Middle School, Winston-Salem, NC
Third Honorable Mention: “Silver Bird” by Dhruti Ramani Bonam, 5th Grade, Alston Ridge Elementary School, Cary, NC
The Travis Tuck Jordan Award – Students 3rd through 5th Grades
Judge: Jonathan Giles
First place: “Supper” by Maria Morrow, 5th Grade, Jeffrey’s Grove Magnet Elementary School, Raleigh, NC
Second place: “Sunset” by Sonia Mehta, 5th Grade, Alston Ridge Elementary School, Cary, NC
Third place: “My Biggest Move” by Tobenna Raymond Ogbowelu, 5th Grade, J. Y. Joyner Elementary Magnet School, Raleigh, NC
First Honorable Mention: “Halloween Is a Fright” by William Allison, 4th Grade, Jeffrey’s Grove Magnet Elementary School, Raleigh, NC
Second Honorable Mention: “Finding the Perfect Book” by Hrileena Paul, 5th Grade, Alston Ridge Elementary School, Cary, NC
Third Honorable Mention: “Situation” by Makenzie Pulling, 4th Grade, Buckhorn Creek Elementary School, Holly Springs, NC
If you would like to be kept informed of the upcoming virtual student gathering and other planned activities for the students of North Carolina, please contact Jonathan Giles, the Student Contests Director, at jgiles0704@gmail.com.
All offers of prizes and publication are contingent on the authors’ compliance with the terms and conditions set forth in the official contest guidelines. While good faith efforts have been made to verify that the poems listed above do comply with these guidelines, North Carolina Poetry Society reserves the right to withdraw any offers in cases where disqualification is warranted.