Seton, Hudson Middle School Power of the Pen students go to state finals
“Power of the Pen” is an interscholastic creative writing competition in Ohio, founded by a former Ohio teacher, Lorraine B. Merrill, in 1986 to give creative writers an outlet and a competition where they could put their skills to the test against other writers. It is reserved for seventh and eighth grades.
Hudson Kiwanis supports two schools, Seton Catholic, coached by Sarah Motil and Hudson Middle School, coached by Mike Fejes.
This year Seton had three eighth grade students, Adelaide Baran, Naya Hilal, and Tina Tse, and seventh-grader Charlotte Kratzert, qualify for the State Finals. Hudson Middle School will have seventh-graders Evelyn Fabian and Olivia Hudak, and eighth-graders Anton Banweg, Emma Sutton, Nina Loboda, and Jerry Du all qualify for the State finals. Only 10% of the Ohio’s 3,600 students who started at the District Tournament will qualify for State finals.
Hudson Kiwanis has financially supported “Power of the Pen “ at both Seton and HMS with enthusiasm. This year’s highlights include: Seton Catholic had their regional competition at Kent State University in February 2023 where Adelaide Baran won the prestigious “Platinum Pen Award” which allows her to be published in the Book of Winners. Another Seton writer, Nina Tse, was in the top 20% at the KSU regional competition.
Meanwhile, Hudson Middle School hosted their regionals in March which resulted in the eighth grade team placing 4th out of 34 schools, and seventh grade writer Olivia Hudak placing third out of 86 writers. Jerry Du who went to State last year as a seventh grader won “Best of Round” as an eighth grader. Proceeding to the Ashland University State finals from HMS are seventh graders, Evelyn Fabián and Olivia Hudak, and eighth grade writers Anton Banweg, Emma Sutton, Nina Loboda, and Jerry Du.
Students who want to join the POP team participate in one or more tryout sessions in the fall, where they are given a prompt and, using pen and paper only, write an essay or short story within 40 minutes. After the allotted time, each story is evaluated and judged by the coach. Once the team is selected, they compete in three different tournaments: a District, Region and ultimately the State Finals which this year will be at Ashland University on May 18 and 19.
For details about Hudson Kiwanis or to make an online donation, visit http://www.hudsonkiwanis.com.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Power of the Pen students at Seton, Hudson Middle, go to state finals
