UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Two-hundred fifty students from across 24 counties in Pennsylvania submitted their poems as part of the WPSU Student Poetry Writing Contest. Eveline Overdurf, a 6th grade student from Lemont, describes it as a way to be grateful for what a pencil and a piece of paper can do.

“A pencil and a piece of paper give you the freedom to express yourself, which gives you the power to make changes to the world around you and make it a better place,” Overdurf said. “It allows you to share your opinions and thoughts safely with other people, to connect with yourself and create worlds in which you choose what happens.”

Overdurf’s poem titled “A New Possibility” was selected as the winner for the 6th-8th grade contest category. She said she has been writing poems since kindergarten and wants to remind people to use writing as an outlet.

“Within the past year, I started writing poems consistently,” Overdurf said. “Writing poems is very important to me because it's a way to make change peacefully. Poems really touch people's hearts so it's a good way to connect with them.”

WPSU launched its first Student Poetry Writing Contest as an extension of its Poetry Moment radio program and in alignment with National Poetry Month which is celebrated in April.

The works were reviewed by more than 30 community volunteers and the final three poems of each grade band were shared with Poetry Moment host and contest judge, Todd Davis, to select the following winning poems for each category:

• “Sunshine” by Allison Caron, kindergarten student from State College, Category: Kindergarten-2nd grade
• “The Meadowlark” by Poppy Goble, 4th grade student from State College, Category: 3rd-5th grade
• “A New Possibility” by Eveline Overdurf, 6th grade student from Lemont, Category: 6th-8th grade
• “Waiting” by Aurea Slimak, 10th grade student from DuBois, Category: 9th-12th grade

Aurea Slimak, a 10th-grade student from DuBois, wrote “Waiting,” the winning poem for the 9th-12th grade category. She said it is about looking for something in life when you’re not sure what it is.

“I feel like this has happened to everyone. Maybe we are expecting an answer to a question, or maybe we are just assuming something is going to happen. If we’re not careful, we can get stuck on the beach, waiting for nothing forever,” Slimak said. “I’ve always appreciated poetry, but last year I was able to take a creative writing class and given the chance to write a lot of poetry. It is a way for me to express myself. It’s my favorite form of art, whether it’s other people’s work or my own.”

The top three poems of each category are published in their entirety on the WPSU website and the winning poem entry from the categories aired on WPSU-FM.

WPSU-TV serves 24 counties in central Pennsylvania and reaches 515,000 households, and WPSU-FM is accessible to more than 450,000 listeners in 13 counties. The public media station also includes WPSU Digital Studios, which offers original web series that explore science, arts and culture.

WPSU is a service of Penn State Outreach.

Visit the WPSU website to learn more about central Pennsylvania’s public media station.