On Friday, January 31st, Segerstrom High School hosted a luncheon for the winners of the 4th Annual Poetry Contest. Four students were selected: Michelle Phan (10), Christie Vu (11), Saul Cervera (11), and Alberto Ramirez (11). They received the accolades of first, second, third, and honorable mention, respectively.

All students received a generously endowed gift basket, including a Barnes & Noble gift card and Segerstrom branded apparel. 

Walking into the conference room, the participants were immediately greeted by name by Segerstrom’s principal, David Casper. Lionlike in both appearance and manner, Mr. Casper emulated a distinct combination of a warm but authoritarian character, putting everyone at ease. 

Pizza, salad, cookies, chips and drinks lay spread out for the students to enjoy, and a lively conversation soon ensued about poetry.

“The inspiration behind my poem came from my view on wind. Wind is everywhere. It involves everything, which is why I chose to base off my poem on this,” says Christie Vu (11), responding to a question about the inspiration behind her poem. 

“My poem actually came from a video game. I wrote it during the summer,” says Michelle Phan (10) when also inquired. 

After a few minutes of this, each winner stood up to recite their work. The quality of the poems were startling- each were well written enough to be composed by professional writers. They read it with some emotion and profound sincerity. It was thoroughly enjoyable. 

The task of distinguishing between the writings must have been a difficult task. Each poem was so distinctly different but equally beautiful. It is hard to judge poetry that varies in style. 

Segerstrom High School should be very proud to enter these poems in the Santa Ana District Contest.