Ten Delaware high school students to compete for the state title and to advance to virtual National Finals
MEDIA ADVISORY March 2, 2022
WHAT: Ten Delaware high school students participated in the taped state finals for Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest that will premiere on the Delaware Division of the Arts’ YouTube channel. The winner of this competition will represent Delaware and advance to the national semifinals, to be streamed on Sunday, May 1, 2022 on arts.gov, with the top nine students advancing to the national finals, that will stream on Sunday, June 5, 2022. This program is sponsored by the Delaware Division of the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Poetry Foundation.
WHEN: Thursday, March 10, 2022, at 7:00 p.m.
WHERE: Delaware Division of the Arts’ YouTube channel
WHO: Finalists, Featured Speakers and Judges will be:
2022 Delaware State Finalists
| Name | School |
| Blessings Akanbi | Hodgson Vocational Technical School |
| Joelle Caternor | Smyrna High School |
| Robyn Goodman | Woodbridge High School |
| Aiden Morris | Mount Sophia Academy |
| Ololade Olubowale | The Tatnall School |
| Natalie Kim Ramos | Saint Mark’s High School |
| Kai Schmiedel | Delaware Valley Classical School |
| Ashley Schnyder | Sanford School |
| Kylie Short | Milford High School |
| Carrie Van Hauter | Sussex Central High School |
Speakers and judges will be:
Speakers:
Jessica Ball, Director, Delaware Division of the Arts
The Honorable Jeffrey W. Bullock, Secretary of State, State of Delaware
Mistress of Ceremonies:
JoAnn Balingit, D. Teaching Artist
Judges:
Jamie Brunson, Executive Director, First Person Arts and 2022 Individual Artist Fellow – Playwriting
Kari Ann Ebert, Poetry and Interview Editor, The Broadkill Review
David Salner, Poet and Writer
Alyssa Watters, Teen Center Coordinator, Milford Public Library
Christian Wills, Poet, Teaching Artist, and Lyricist
Beverly Romain, Poet, Teaching Artist, and Writer will serve as Accuracy Judge
Production Team:
Director: Traci Currie, Ph.D, Teaching Artist
Film Editor: Kevin Muhammad, Advocate Media
Closed Captioning: Daniel Sato, Director of Multimedia, Government Information Center, State of Delaware
Program Staff:
Sheila Dean Ross, Program Officer, Arts in Education, Delaware Division of the Arts
Kaitlin Ammon, Program Officer, Communications and Marketing, Delaware Division of the Arts
Dana Wise, Administrative Assistant, Delaware Division of the Arts
OTHER: The 2022 Poetry Out Loud photos will be available the day after the event. Use hashtags: #POL22 and #iampoetryoutloud. Tag us at: @ArtsDelaware
Learn more
About the Delaware Division of the Arts The Delaware Division of the Arts is an agency of the State of Delaware. Together with its advisory body, the Delaware State Arts Council, the Division administers grants and programs that support arts programming, educate the public, increase awareness of the arts, and integrate the arts into all facets of Delaware life. Funding for Division programs is provided by annual appropriations from the Delaware General Assembly and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. For more information about the Delaware Division of the Arts, visit arts.delaware.gov or call 302-577-8278.
Contact: Leeann Wallett, Program Officer, Community Engagement 302-577-8282, leeann.wallett@delaware.gov
