Winning Entries
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"Illustrious" 2019 National Student Poetry Contest
(Original Submission Deadline of April 30, 2019) - Winners Announced September 30, 2019.
Click here to read the poems by the Division Winners (1st, 2nd, and 3rd place)
Division I
(grades 3-5)
Division Winner – Caroline Bahr
2nd Place – Iman Athar
3rd Place – Ellie Park
Division II
(grades 6-7)
Division Winner – John Murrell
2nd Place – Anika Ajgaonkar
3rd Place – Ezra Bradford
Division III
(grades 8-9)
Division Winner – Reid Bushong
2nd Place – Haleigh Walter
3rd Place – Alice Yang
Division IV
(grades 10-12)
Division Winner – Irura Nyiha
2nd Place – Christina Tillinghast
3rd Place – Emma Tafazoli
Editor's Choice Award and Grand Prize Winner
John Murrell for poem entitled "Connections"
"School's Out Shopping Spree" Winner
Braelyn Hundt (Entry entitled "Soccer Life")
Laptop Computer, Tablet, or iPod Touch Winner
Riley Kogut (Entry entitled "Big Digger")
Amazon Gift Card Winners
Alan Fairbairn (Entry entitled "The Blacksmith Shop")
Daniel Kim (Entry entitled "Deportation In the Free")
Hope Dunkle (Entry entitled "My Curse")
Amanda Lacona (Entry entitled "Beach Day")
Michael McDonnell (Entry entitled "The Life of a Teacher")
Hailee Yancey (Entry entitled "Mother Earth")
Alyssa VanLue (Entry entitled "The Ballad of Eternity")
Jacob Velasquez (Entry entitled "Life")
Morgan Barber (Entry entitled "Recovered")
Dylan Starbird (Entry entitled "Ode To Death")
Top Educator Award Winners
Ed Theriault of Woodland Consolidated School in Woodland, ME
Josh Banks of Sainte Genevieve High School in Sainte Genevieve, MO
Kathy Kusiak of Faith Christian School in Roseto, PA
Sasha Altaf of Apple Tree Montessori in Southwest Ranches, FL
Barry Gibrall of Benedictine College Preparatory in Richmond, VA
Kendra Neal of Britt David Magnet Academy in Columbus, GA
Chris Nobbe of Aurora Elementary School in Aurora, IN
Peggy Shaskan of Edmund Lieck Elementary School in San Antonio, TX
Jay Higgins of Upper Valley Christian School in Leavenworth, WA
Kimberly Coast of Newbury Park Adventist Academy in Newbury Park, CA
2019 Spirit of Education Award Winner
Ernest Becker Middle School of Las Vegas, NV