This winter, Colorado Springs students grades nine through 12 were challenged to share their voices via the art of poetry as part of Fountain Valley School’s (FVS) 15th annual city-wide Athenaea poetry competition.
Nearly 100 English and multilingual poems were submitted from throughout the Pikes Peak region as students from six different high schools vied for the chance to win cash prizes along with the opportunity to be published in the spring edition of FVS’s award-winning, student-produced literary magazine, Athenaea, founded in 1930 and named for the Greek goddess of wisdom Athena. Judged once again by the 6th Pikes Peak Region Poet Laureate Ashley Cornelius, poems were critiqued for their symbolism, use of metaphors, creativity, and more.
“This was one of the hardest years yet! It was an honor to judge so many incredible pieces,” said Cornelius, a nationally recognized and multi-award-winning spoken-word poet, facilitator, cultural worker, and keynote speaker. “Poetry is a powerful way to share one’s stories, and each of the winners crafted a phenomenal and memorable message.”
Parents, students, teachers, and Cornelius gathered in the Hacienda living room at Fountain Valley School on Wednesday, April 17, 2024, for an intimate poetry reading meant to celebrate not only National Poetry Month but also the hard work of each contributor in this year’s competition. The winners included:
English Category
1st place: Drowning by Charlize LeClaire ’27 (Cheyenne Mountain High School)
2nd place: Dear Future Me by Stella Rhee ’26 (FVS)
3rd place: Drifting by Lucy Kim ’27 (Pine Creek High School)
Honorable Mention:
The Fall by Brynn Jensen ’25 (FVS)
Mother's Generation by Molly Friedman ’24 (FVS)
I am From by Lea Mossanen ’24 (FVS)
My Shoes Are Tired by Tialer Willis ’26 (Calhan High School)
Multilingual Category
1st place: El Grafito de Mi Corazón by Lily Christofferson ’25 (FVS)
2nd place: Yo Soy un Pedazo de Papel by Adeline Butler ’26 (FVS)
3rd place: ¿Quiénes Son? by Tarek Murad ’27 (FVS)
Honorable Mention:
Seule by Emily Safyan ’26 (FVS)
Las Características del Bosque by Annabelle Cabaniss ’27 (FVS)
En las Montañas by Lauren Chappell ’24 (FVS)
Students could submit up to three poems per category, including an English translation in the multilingual category. In her first-place poem, Drowning, Charlize LeClaire – a freshman at Cheyenne Mountain High School – chose to reflect on the realities of teenage angst. “I was inspired by what I had seen my friends go through,” she said. “It's so hard to love when you are going through your own struggles, always waiting for someone to leave or give up on you.”
Meanwhile, Fountain Valley School Junior Lily Christofferson drew inspiration for her award-winning, multilingual poem, El Grafito de Mi Corazón, from a chemistry lesson on the characteristics of graphite. In Spanish, she writes: “Love has broken me. Layer by layer. Like graphite. It is shaved away,” noting, “This poem is comparing myself to graphite, which is incredibly strong, but only if it's not shaved away.”
To each contestant as well as all aspiring artists, Cornelius imparts the following advice: “Keep using your voice and expanding your creativity through poetry.”
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Founded in 1930, Fountain Valley School of Colorado is a boarding and day school for grades 9-12. Situated on 1,100 acres of rolling prairie in Colorado Springs, the School provides a rigorous, global curriculum in academics, arts, athletics, and the outdoors to develop young adults who are courageous, open-minded, self-reliant, curious, and compassionate. Enrollment is approximately 240 students from 23 countries, 21 states, and the Pikes Peak Region. www.fvs.edu
Fountain Valley School (FVS) is delighted to announce Colorado Supreme Court Justice Melissa Hart as the keynote speaker for its 94th Commencement Exercises on May 25, 2024, at FVS. Raised in Colorado, Justice Hart's journey to the State's highest court has been marked by a commitment to legal scholarship, teaching, and public service.
A distinguished alumna of Harvard-Radcliffe College and Harvard Law School, Justice Hart clerked for Judge Guido Calabresi of the Second Circuit and Justice John Paul Stevens on the U.S. Supreme Court. Following her clerkships, she practiced law in Washington, D.C., including serving as a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice before transitioning to academia.
In 2000, Justice Hart joined the University of Colorado Law School faculty, where she has been instrumental in shaping the next generation of legal minds. She has dedicated much of her career to teaching and scholarship, focusing on vital issues such as employment discrimination, access to justice, and constitutional law. Her contributions to legal education are further exemplified by her past tenure as director of the Byron R. White Center for the Study of American Constitutional Law from 2010 to 2018.
In December 2017, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper recognized Justice Hart's exceptional legal acumen and commitment to justice by appointing her to the Colorado Supreme Court. Governor Hickenlooper praised her as "without question a brilliant legal mind" and hailed her appointment as "a great opportunity for Colorado."
Throughout her time serving on the Colorado Supreme Court, Justice Hart has continued to uphold the principles of justice and fairness, earning widespread respect and admiration from her colleagues and the community. As the 2024 Commencement speaker at Fountain Valley School, Justice Hart will undoubtedly inspire graduates with her insights, wisdom, and dedication to the law. The day's ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. on the School's graduation lawn (6155 Fountain Valley School Rd., Colorado Springs, CO 80911).
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Founded in 1930, Fountain Valley School of Colorado is a boarding and day school for grades 9-12. Situated on 1,100 acres of rolling prairie in Colorado Springs, the School provides a rigorous, global curriculum in academics, arts, athletics, and the outdoors to develop young adults who are courageous, open-minded, self-reliant, curious, and compassionate. Enrollment is approximately 240 students from 23 countries, 21 states and the Pikes Peak Region. www.fvs.edu