Reed Cooksey is nine years old and was born in Oregon. He has lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico for two years. He is already an uncle to five kids! He likes to snow ski, hike, camp, play with circuit boards with his brother in law, make movies on the computer, and play with Legos. He loves Jesus and likes to spend time with his family.
Click Here for Reed’s Winning Poem!
Lara Elkasri, age 10, is a fifth grader at Corbett Preparatory School in Tampa, Florida. Her favorite subjects include reading and math. She enjoys ballet, acrobatics and piano. Lara loves spending time with her sisters at home and is honored to receive this award.
Read Poem Here.
Cason McIntyre, age 7, is a first grader at Estes Park Elementary School in Estes Park, Colorado. While he very much enjoys reading and art at school, he would say his favorite subject is recess! He spends many hours pouring over books or with a colored pencil in hand, working on his next masterpiece. He also loves to play with Legos. Outside of school, Cason enjoys hunting with his dad and enjoying the great outdoors. He also helps with the family garden and cares for his flock of hens. Cason is full of life and shares a smile with everyone he meets. Cason is very excited to receive this award.
Read Poem Here.
Lena McIntyre, age 9, is a fourth grader at Estes Park Elementary School in Estes Park, Colorado. Her favorite subjects in school are science and art and she stays very active with choir and basketball. Outside of school, she expresses her creative side through art and dance. Living in Colorado also allows for many fun outdoor activities including hiking, hunting with her dad and fishing. She stays busy helping care for the family chickens and also loves getting her hands dirty in the garden. Lena is a wonderful young lady who enjoys life to the fullest. She is very excited to receive this award.
Read Poem Here.
Read Poem Here.
Best Poem (grades 3-5): Jeffrey Pistor, 11, is a homeschooled 6th grader from Colleyville, Texas. He is very close with his older brother and younger sister. He has a great love for nature and animals and enjoys monthly campouts with his Boy Scout Troop. He recently achieved 1st Class Rank on his way to Eagle. Jeffrey is an official greeter at his church and he also plays the piano, is studying Jiu-Jitsu, and devotes time to Bible Study Fellowship with his father.
Read Poem Here.
Best Poem (grades K-2): Myra Vicchrilli, 8, was born in Aurora, Colorado, a suburb of Denver, and now lives in Wiggins, Colorado. She loves animals. Myra has a horse named Tippsy; two dogs, Dice and Duke; and six cats named Kelsey, Rummy, Sasha, Clide, Molly and Macey. She has a two-year-old sister named Kellie that she adores, and loves to go to the horse races where her daddy is a jockey.
Read Poem Here.
Bethany Cooksey, 11, Best Poem Winner, Grades 3-5, lived in Japan as the daughter of missionaries until the age of five, when her family moved to beautiful McMinnville, Oregon. She was born in Nagasaki on the island of Kyushu and is the fifth of eight happy homeschooled children. She loves Bible Bee, Antonin Dvorak’s music, reading, singing in the church choir, drawing, playing with her baby brother, cooking, sewing, writing, piano, and cello.
Abigail Olschewski, 7, Best Poem Winner, Grades K-2, just started the second grade at Promontory School of Expeditionary Learning. She lives with her parents and two older brothers in the beautiful little town of Brigham City about 60 miles north of Salt Lake City in the mountains of Utah. She loves to read, sing, whistle, and make art projects. She is a Brownie in the Girl Scouts and active in her church. She loves to play outside, and with her friends.
Read Poem Here.
Lindsay Culpepper, 11, Best Poem Winner, lives in Maylene, AL, just south of Birmingham. She is a sixth grader at Evangel Classical Christian School, where she enjoys studying science, Latin, and history. In her free time, she likes reading, writing, art, horseback riding, and playing basketball. An animal lover, she has attended Zoo Camp at the Birmingham Zoo each summer for the past four years. She recently started serving in the children’s ministry at her church, assisting with the children’s worship service. In the future she hopes to become a writer, a nature photographer, or a veterinarian.
Read Poem Here.
Anya Ambarish, 10, Best Elementary School Poem Winner, lives in Dulles, Virginia. She goes to Rosa Lee Carter Elementary school and is in the fifth grade. Her favorite subject at school is reading, and she also enjoys science and social studies. She is passionate about poetry, writing, reading, tennis, basketball and ping-pong. Many of her short stories and poems have been published in various books and websites. She aspires to become a lawyer or a writer.
View Poem Here
Campbell Collins, 10, Best Elementary School Poem Winner, is a homeschooled 5th grader from Austin, Texas. She loves to Irish dance, swim, and write. Her favorite subjects are English and art history. Campbell is also a committed Girl Scout. In fact, she wrote this poem in order to earn a Girl Scout Constitution badge. Campbell loves to write poetry—although she admits that writing a sonnet about the separation of powers was really challenging!
Read Poem Here.
Marin Mckinney, 10, lives in Ballwin, Missouri. She is homeschooled and is in the fourth grade. Her favorite subject in school is reading, and she also enjoys history and math. Her favorite historical time period is the American Revolution. Marin has taken art classes every week for the last three+ years and loves it! She is passionate about art and design and hopes to someday become a professional artist. In her free time, Marin likes to create projects in her “Creation Station” and loves to play soccer. She also manages to squeeze in time to play with her two younger brothers of whom she adores! She’s thrilled to have won this award and looks forward to sharing with others the importance of the Constitution.
View Artwork Here.
With this poetry category, Becca creatively had fun while using the French political philosopher’s name (Montesquieu) in an acrostic to enlighten the reader of our nation’s ‘Checks and Balances’ system. Becca, 12, is currently a 6th grader at London ISD and lives with her parents, younger sister and two brothers in the sparkling city of Corpus Christi, Texas. While striving for good grades, her favorite subjects are Reading and Writing. Hobbies include listening to music and any activities that involve creative designing. In a leadership capacity last year, Rebecca received the school’s Academic Excellence (or Marlin) Award with her essay entitled “The Importance of Family.” With more time and focus, Becca hopes to gain greater understanding and appreciation for our beloved Constitution and how it connects with our everyday life.
Read Poem Here.
Lucas Elliott is a second grader from Wake Forest, North Carolina. His favorite subjects in school are math and reading. Since he is the youngest of four children, he is well versed in making sure his thoughts and ideas are not ever lost in the shuffle. He loves to entertain and is excited about all forms of media. He hopes to have a forum to share his vision with the world in the future. He also loves to play basketball, and tinker around the house with his tool set. He had many questions during this past election season and enjoyed writing his poem as he was learning about how our government was designed.
Read Poem Here.
