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.

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!”

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.