2014 NCPS Student Contest Winners

Travis Tuck Jordan Award (elementary school, grades 3-5)
1st place — “The Real Me” by Kiera Finnessy
4th grade, North Ridge Elem. School
Raleigh, NC — teacher: Sarah Malcolm

2nd place — “The Understanding of S” by Carson Lewis
4th grade, North Forest Pines Elem. School
Raleigh, NC — teacher: Mrs. Cross

3rd place — “It’s Complicated” by Michael Dennis
5th grade, Montessori at Sandy Ford
Hickory, NC — teacher: Mary Helen Cline

Honorable Mentions:
“Ice” by Joshua Heffner
3rd grade, North Forest Pines Elem. School
Raleigh, NC

“A Walk to the Creek” by Mati Glynn
5th grade, Montessori at Sandy Ford
Hickory, NC — teacher: Mary Helen Cline

Judge: Suzanne Newton has been a writer and poet working in North Carolina
schools since 1971. She is the author of nine novels for young people, including
M.V. Sexton Speaking and I Will Call It Georgie’s Blues.

Joan Scott Memorial Award (grades 3-8, environmental themed poems)
1st place — “Crying Clouds” by Luke Buckingham
4th grade, North Forest Pines Elementary School
Raleigh, NC teacher: Wendy Peabody

2nd place — “What’s in the Forest?” by Michael Li
7th grade, Smith Middle School
Chapel Hill, NC teacher: Erin White

3rd place — “The Circle of Life” by Kristin Roberts
North Forest Pines Elementary School
Raleigh, NC

Honorable mentions:
“The Silver Lily” by Rajee Ganesan
8th grade, Mills Park Middle School
Cary, NC teacher: Ashley Bertrand

“As the Leaves Fall” by Adelina J. Mejia
6th grade, West Lee Middle School
Sanford, NC teacher: Jamie Holt

“Up North” by Cara Mack
North Forest Pines Elementary School
Raleigh, NC
Judge: Howard L. Craft is a poet, playwright and arts educator. He is the author of a 
book of poems, Across The Blue Chasm.  His poetry also appears in Home 
is Where: An Anthology of African­American poets from the Carolinas, 
edited by Kwame Dawes. 

Mary Chilton Award (middle school grades, 6-8)
1st place: “Dreams” by Jessica Barta
7th grade, Lufkin Road Middle School
Apex, NC — teacher: Ms. Rouse

2nd: “Autumn Is Here” by David Schell
6th grade, Montessori at Sandy Ford
Hickory, NC — teacher: Mary Helen Cline

3rd: “Off to See the World” by Bernadette Boros
7th grade, Lufkin Road Middle School
Apex, NC — teacher: Ms. Rouse

Honorable Mentions:
“Moss” by Parker Mann
6th grade, Montessori at Sandy Ford
Hickory, NC — teacher: Mary Helen Cline

“The Man, Hopeless” by Daniel Wasserman
6th grade, East Millbrook Magnet Middle School
Raleigh, NC — teacher: Bernice Johnson
Judge:David Roderick’s first book of poems, Blue Colonial, won of the APR/Honickman 
Prize. His next book, The Americans, is forthcoming in the fall of 2014. He teaches 
in the MFA Writing Program at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Sherry Pruitt Award (high school students and undergraduates)
1st Place: “Hymn to Urban Apollo” by Jeremy Sexton
         Freshman, Wake Forest University
         Winston-­Salem, NC professor: Dr. Louis Goldstein

2nd Place: “Relationships with Writing Utensils” by Qasim Conze
          12th grade, Penn­Griffin School for the Arts
          Greensboro, NC teacher: John York

3rd Place: “New York City Girl” by Katie Porter
10th grade, Penn­Griffin School for the Arts
Jamestown, NC teacher: John York

Honorable Mentions:
“Nature’s Serenity” by Courtney Lemay
    9th grade, Penn­Griffin School for the Arts
    Jamestown, NC teacher: John York

“Abeulita Mimi” by Ana Mehnert
    11th grade, Penn­Griffin School for the Arts
    Jamestown, NC teacher: John York
Judge: A former high school teacher for 18 years, Nancy Posey teaches English 
at Caldwell Community College. She has published book reviews in 
English Journal, Y’all magazine, the Charlotte Observer, and the 
Raleigh News and Observer. Her chapbook Let the Lady Speak was 
published in 2010. Posey has also published poems in Writers Digest, 
the Dead Mule School of Southern Literature, Wild Goose Poetry 
Review, and Poet’s Market.

 Farlow-­Griffin Haiku Award (high school students and undergraduates)
1st Place: “Old Oak” by Jeremy Sexton
freshman, Wake Forest University
Winston-Salem, NC instructor: Dr. Louis Goldstein

2nd Place: “The Smoke Rises High” by Lili Blue
10th grade, Penn-Griffin School for the Arts
High Point, NC teacher: John York

3rd Place: “An Eccentric Man” by Natasha Derezinski-Choo
11th grade, Grimsley Senior High School
Greensboro, NC teacher: Alex Howard

Honorable Mentions:
“Independence” by Erica Baker
12th grade, Penn-Griffin School for the Arts
High Point, NC teacher: John York

Honorable Mention — “Angry Music” by Caleb LeJeune
9th grade, Penn-Griffin School for the Arts
High Point, NC teacher: John York

Judge: Mimi Herman is the author of Logophilia and The Art of Learning.  Her writing 
has appeared in Michigan Quarterly Review, Shenandoah and other journals. 
She holds an MFA in Fiction from Warren Wilson. Since 1990, she has 
engaged over 25,000 students and teachers in writing workshops. You can find 
her at www.mimiherman.com. 

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2013 NCPS Student Contest Winners

Travis Tuck Jordan Award (grades 3-5)
First Place — “Nature’s Home” by Cydney Boyer
Second Place — “Upside-Down Playground” by Avery Cox
Third Place — “Water is Everywhere” by Jared Easter
Honorable Mention — “The Justamere Cats” by Baylor Brinkley
Honorable Mention — “Not a Normal Day” by Jackson Tumbarello

Mary Chilton Award (grades 6-8)
First Place — “The Farm in the Morning” by Victoria Wright
Second Place — “Ajima” by Robert Mills, Jr.
Third Place — “Red Snow” by Parker Wong
Honorable Mention — “Eruption” by Emily Robinson

Joan Scott Memorial Award (grades 3-8)
First Place — “Turtles” by Charlie Riddick
Second Place — “Impact” by Max Deppe
Third Place — “Rain” by William Stiff
Honorable Mention — “Life in the Sea” by Jessica Dowless
Honorable Mention — “The Mighty Eagle Strong and Free” by Evaline Davis

Sherry Pruitt Award (grades 9 and up)
First Place — “Thanksgiving Poem to my Ribs” by Annalee Kwochka
Second Place — “Antigonia” by Maya Gouw
Third Place — “Druidic Sacrifice” by Jeremy Sexton
Honorable Mention — “Pinecone” by Faysal Ibrahim

Farlow-Griffin Haiku Award (grades 9 and up)
First Place — “The Web of Freedom” by Bryce Polascik
Second Place — “A Frame” by Jeremy Sexton
Third Place — “Impassive Gods” by Maya Gouw

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2012 NCPS Student Contest Winners

Travis Tuck Award
First Place: Brock Issac Heck, “This Old Farm”
Second Place: Evan Dorsett, “Insomnia”
Third Place: Mikhaila Weida, “Bedtime Story”
Honorable Mentions:
Alex Rhodes, “A Game of Soccer”
Edward Delgado, “Tornado”
Piper Shae Draughon, “Colors”
Rylan Elliott Dunn, “The Grandmother Poet”

Joan Scott Award
First Place: Kylie Morgan, “A Walk Through the Woods”
Second Place: Jordan Pannell, “The Open Sea”
Third Place: Meghan Wenzinger, “What Pollution Can Do”
Honorable Mentions:
Kate Montgomery, “The Beach at Sunrise”
John Nicholson, “Crunch”
Dasha Reinhardt, “The World Through My Eyes”

Mary Chilton Award
First Place: Javin Smith, “Soccer is My Poetry”
Second Place: Andrew Prevatte, “A Different Place”
Third Place: Abby Shepard-Moore, “Innocence”
Honorable Mentions:
Rushil Shah, “I Live Inside a Haunted House.”
Drew Watson, “Slave Town”
Andrew Swann, “A Bit of Wisdom”

Sherry Pruitt Award
First Place: Alexandra Corcoran, “Moon Baby”
Second Place: Danny Moore IV, “Rhythm”
Third Place: Chanel Sherrod, “I Cursed Momma”
Honorable Mentions:
Darion Bradley, “Bittersweet”
Helen Ni, “Their Purest Kin”
Natasha Derezinski-Choo, “The Fight”

Farlow-Griffin Haiku Award
First Place: Jeremy Sexton, “Fast Waters”
Second Place: Danny Moore IV, “My Music”
Third Place: Ragine Jackson, “Strayed Leopard”
Honorable Mentions:
Daniel Robinson, “Prey”
Robert L. Pilgrim II, “Hoot Hoot”
Natasha Derezinski-Choo, “The Fasten Seatbelt Sign”