Winners of USC Sumter Spring Poetry Contest Announced

by Alethia Hummel

Sumter, SC (05/14/2024) — The University of South Carolina Sumter recently announced the winners of the 2024 USC Sumter Spring Poetry Contest. This is the 39th time the university has sponsored the contest and this year's competition saw 80 entries. Students from Sumter County public and private middle and high schools sent in submissions with the support of their teachers.

The mission of the USC Sumter Poetry Contest is to promote writing and reading in complex forms, provide a creative outlet for young poets, celebrate the talents of youth in our community, and lastly, honor the teachers and schools that support these poets.

"I am truly passionate about poetry, and so, to connect with my students over something so deeply personal was a wonderful experience. I was thrilled to learn that the student judges from USC could not see the names of or the schools of the poets; so, their final decisions were genuinely focused on the poetry itself," said Leah Kiernan, ELA Teacher at Thomas Sumter Academy.

The winners were announced during a presentation which featured readings from the contest's finalists. Finalists for this year's competition included middle schoolers Brooklynn Moore, Autumn Crockett, Sydney Quick, Allyson Deonier, Audrey Allen, Chloe Jo Perry, Stella Lindler, Helena Vasquez, Landon Mclellan, and Ana Beck.

High school finalists were Katelyn Mizelle, Annabelle Williamson, Haley Garcia, Sophia Fackelman, and Grayce Osgood.

The 2024 winners were:

Middle School
1st Place - "Art Block" by Brooklynn Moore
2nd Place - "Ode to Sampson" by Autumn Crockett
3rd Place - "The Cage" by Sydney Quick

High School
1st Place - "Snap!!!" by Katelyn Mizelle
2nd Place - "The Timekeeper" by Annabelle Williamson
3rd Place - "Day and Night" by Haley Garcia

Winners of the contest received a certificate, gift card to Books-A-Million, and a swag bag of USC Sumter merchandise.

The contest was organized by USC Sumter faculty members Vincent Frontero, Instructor of English, and Dr. Ray McManus, Professor English and Chair of the Division of Arts and Letters, Humanities, Social Sciences, and Education.

"Any opportunity to showcase the creativity and talent of our youth is worthwhile," said Dr. McManus. "This program is an important aspect of USC Sumter's commitment to community outreach and engagement. I'm grateful for Vincent and his ENGL 200 class and all the teachers who made this possible!"

The organizers would like to thank those that helped make the contest possible including the Division of Arts and Letters at USC Sumter, Alethia Hummel, Director of Marketing and Public Relations, Stacy Nance in University Advancement, and the Sumter Partnership of the University of South Carolina Educational Foundation.

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