On Jan. 29, 2016, 17 Ada High School students participated in the 7th Annual Poetry Out Loud contest at Ada High. Contestants competed for the chance to advance to the regional competition in Tulsa on Feb. 20, 2016.

The regional winners will go to state, then the state winner will go on to the national competition in Washington D.C. Thousands of dollars in prize money will be awarded to national winners.

AHS students recited poems in their English classes during November.  Class winners were chosen to recite their poems during the school wide assembly.

Gallery • 17 Photos

Jeremy Bowerman reciting "Beautiful Wreckage"

The National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation joined to create Poetry Out Loud, which is a program that encourages the nation’s youth to learn about great poetry through memorization and recitation.

The judges deciding on the winner were:

1. Mrs. Jennifer Greenstreet
2. Dr. Bob Greenstreet
3. Dr. Josh Grasso.

Mrs. Greenstreet received her bachelor’s degree from the University of California and a Masters in Library and Information Studies from the University of Oklahoma. Retiring from the position of Director of the Ada Public Library two years ago after twenty-eight years of being so. She is also a board member of both the Ad Sunrise Rotary Club and Pontotoc County Literacy Coalition.

Dr. Greenstreet is a retired professor of Communication Studies at East Central University. He still teaches an online course each semester as part of the Reach Higher Oklahoma Program. In his career he received numerous recognition’s including ECU’s Teaching Excellence Award. Dr. Greenstreet is a past president the Ada Sunrise Rotary Club and will serve as Rotary International District 5770 as Governor in 2016 through 2017.

Dr. Grosso is an associate professor of English and Languages at East Central University. He has a Ph. D from Miami University and a Masters from the University of Tulsa for both 18th and 19th century British Literature. Grosso has published three books of fiction and several articles on literature and teaching.

The AHS Poetry Out Loud contestants were:

1. Jeremy Bowerman “Beautiful Wreckage” W.D. Ehrhart
2. Abbie Gandy   “Across the Bay” Donald Davie
3. Darren Hawkins   “Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight” Vachel Lindsay
4. Jaden Mitchell   “The American Soldier” Phillip Freneau
5. Hannah Scroggins   “Dear Reader” Rita Mae Reese
6. Juan Oseguera   “Acteon” A.E. Stallings
7. Autumn Rodgers   “The Ocean” Nathaniel Hawthorne
8. Cole Linnhuber   “Ode” Arthur O’Shaugnessy
9. Jordan Marshall   “Caged Bird” Maya Angelou
10. Becky Robnett   “Obligation to Be Happy” Linda Pastan
11. Ben Muse   “All This and More” Mary Karr
12. Kate Pottebaum   “One Art” Elizabeth Bishop
13. Teondre’ Harrison “Beautiful Wreckage” W.D. Ehrhart
14. Emily Rhyne   “Dear Reader” Rita Mae Reese
15. Brody MacDonald   “Romance” Claude McKay
16. Teresa White   “Abandoned Farmhouse” Ted Kooser
17. Chris Allen   “Be Music Night” Kenneth Patchen

The judges tallied up the points for the first through third place winners, they were:

1. Juan Oseguera
2. Kate Pottebaum
3. Teresa White

For the third year in a row, Juan Oseguera won the School Wide competition and will proceed to the regional competition, along with second place winner, Kate Pottebaum.