Poetry Out Loud

Poetry Out Loud is a national arts education program that encourages the study of great poetry by offering free educational materials and a dynamic recitation competition for high school students across the country. This program helps students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about literary history and contemporary life. Poetry Out Loud is a partnership of the National Endowment for the Arts, Poetry Foundation, and the state and jurisdictional arts agencies. Since 2005, Poetry Out Loud has grown to reach more than 4 million students and 65,000 teachers from 16,000 schools in every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa.

2025 Poetry Out Loud

We hosted the 2025 countywide Poetry Out Loud competition at the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art in February. Seven students from high schools across San Luis Obispo County shared the stage to compete in two rounds of inspiring recitations. Joss Robertson from Arroyo Grande High School was named the 2025 SLO County champion and will go on to compete at the California State Finals in Sacramento in March.

Congratulations to all seven finalists!

Finalists pictured from left to right: Orion Rea (Morro Bay High School), Anna Schalk (Coast Union High School), Jared Nevarez (Paso Robles High School), Maryrose Campbell (Homeschool), Joss Robertson (Arroyo Grande High School), Anika Hedlund (San Luis Obispo Classical Academy), and Ethan Diesta (San Luis Obispo High School)

2025 SLO County Champions

Joss Robertson

FIRST PLACE
Joss Robertson is a sophomore at Arroyo Grande High School and has been entertaining audiences from a very young age. From the early years of her youth, she has been deeply enthralled by storytelling. Between theatre, dancing, and singing, she has always found joy in conveying a message through something more meaningful than simplicity: art. Poetry, to her, revealed itself to be the map to empathy. She believes that poetry offers a unique sense of vulnerability, which pushes her to share her favorite poems. Apart from her artistic endeavors, she finds joy in basketball, cheerleading, stunts, and academics. She is beyond excited to bring to life to poetry. She thanks her family, friends, and teachers for all of their support.
Maryrose Campbell

SECOND PLACE
Maryrose Campbell is a freshman in high school (class of 2028) and does homeschooling. She enjoys playing violin in the SLO Youth Symphony; writing and illustrating poetry and short stories; studying chemistry and doing science experiments; running and fencing; and exchanging (snail mail) letters with friends. She likes to find truth and convey truth with poetry, believing that poems can convey truths that prose can’t because they appeal to a lot of different parts of our minds. Fun fact: Every summer, Maryrose walks 35 miles of the California coast in two days, tent camping overnight, with a large group of other walkers. She says, “It's tiring but my favorite summer activity!”
Ethan Diesta

THIRD PLACE
Ethan Diesta is a sophomore at San Luis Obispo High School and he’s 16. He is a dancer, fencer, and everything in between. He enjoys poetry because he believes it is a perfect medium for ideas or feelings that you can't express through anything else. A fun fact about Ethan? He played Butterfly's Son in the running of Madame Butterfly eight years ago at the PAC.