Indiana High School Students To Participate In Poetry Out Loud State Finals

By The Times of Noblesville | March 1, 2023

The Indiana Arts Commission (IAC) announced today that students representing fourteen high schools from around the state will compete in the Indiana Poetry Out Loud State Finals. The Poetry Out Loud State Finals will occur on Saturday, March 4th at 1:30PM ET at the Indiana Government Center Conference Center.

Since 2005, the National Endowment for the Arts, Poetry Foundation, and Indiana Arts Commission have worked with Indiana schools, teachers, and organizations to bring students a unique way to learn and love poetry. Through Poetry Out Loud, students read, memorize, and recite classic and contemporary poems.

The fourteen students taking part in the 2023 Poetry Out Loud State Finals include:

  • Minh Huynh

Bloomington High School South

  • Charlotte Griffith

Clay High School

  • Allison Mullett

Columbia City High School

  • Sreepadaarchana Munjuluri

Columbus North High School

  • Austin Menefee

Columbus Signature Academy New Tech Campus

  • Corbin Malchow

Delta High School

  • Lukka M. Sumner

Franklin Central High School

  • Gaia Splendore

Homestead High School

  • Serenity Akers

Indiana Digital Learning School

  • Chloe Duncan

Ivy Tech Early College High School

  • Eliana M. Ortega

Jasper High School

  • Matilde E Ibarra

Monroe Central Jr./Sr. High School

  • Aalihya Banks

Pike High School

  • Shelby Lloyd

West Washington Jr./Sr. High School

The finals will be hosted by Hannah Coe and Charlotte Yeung. Hannah Coe is a freshman at Ball State University and currently serves as the Program Assistant for Poetry Out Loud. She is a former Poetry Out Loud State Finalist and a current Ball State University student studying Art Education. Charlotte Yeung is the 2022 Indianapolis Youth Poet Laureate. Her award-winning art and writing is published on multiple platforms from the New York Times to Carnegie Hall. She will compete for the National Youth Poet Laureate title in Hawaii in late April.

The State Champion receives a $200 cash prize and the Champion’s school receives a $500 stipend to purchase poetry books. Each student winner receives a handmade trophy created by textile artist Emily Bennett of Terre Haute, IN. The State Champion will also represent Indiana at the Poetry Out Loud National Finals, where the National Champion will be awarded $20,000.

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