Victoria Jelks is a freshman at Horton High School. She is the daughter of Ezekiel Jelks and Ivy Stone. Victoria's English teacher, Julie Geiger, introduced her to the world of poetry competition through Poetry Out Loud.

 

Poetry Out Loud (a partnership for National Endowment For The Arts) "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." (Nat'l Endowment For the Arts website)

 

Victoria competed at the Poetry Out Loud regional meet on February 4th, 2023 and won 3rd place. The next stop was the Poetry Out Loud state competition at Washburn University on March 11, 2023. Victoria, along with six other high school students, performed three poems. At the end of the competition, Victoria Jelks was named the 2023 State Champion of the Poetry Out Loud competition. The premiere of the state competition will air on KTWU on

Mon, Apr 24 at 8:00 pm.

 

Victoria will compete at the National Poetry Out Loud competition in Washington D.C. on May 8, 2023 where she will represent Horton High School and the state of Kansas!