2023 Poetry Out Loud

Inspiring High School Students Through the Spoken Word

Celebrating 18 Years Old Nevada Poetry Put Loud

After three years of hosting Nevada Poetry Out Loud virtually, the 18th annual Nevada Poetry Out Loud state competition convened in person at the Pioneer Center for Performing Arts in Reno, NV, on March 11, 2023. Ashlee Sandoval, a junior at Elko High School, Elko, was named state champion and will represent Nevada at the 2023 Poetry Out Loud national finals competition in Washington D.C. Grace Hwang, a senior at Ed W. Clark High School , Las Vegas, placed second and Farrah Bader, a senior at Yerington High School, Yerington, placed third. View the 2023 Progam here.

2023 Nevada State Poetry Out Loud Champions

A young woman with long dark hair, wearing a black jacket and patterned skirt, stands smiling in front of a microphone on stage against a dark background.

2023 Nevada State Poetry Out Loud Champion

Ashlee Sandoval

Elko County

A person with glasses, dressed in dark clothing, stands alone on stage speaking or singing into a microphone against a dark background.

2023 Nevada State Poetry Out Loud Second Place

Grace Hwang

Clark County

A woman with long dark hair, wearing a red top, jeans, and a black cardigan, stands on stage speaking into a microphone. Colorful butterfly graphics are visible on a screen behind her.

2023 Nevada State Poetry Out Loud Third Place

Farrah Bader

Lyon County

All Participants

Black and white portrait of a young woman with long dark hair, wearing a patterned top and a necklace, smiling softly in front of a light textured background.

Eureka County

Selene Contreras

Selene Contreras is a 15-year-old girl attending Eureka
County High School who has a love for literature and the arts. Her favorite books are “Crime and Punishment” by Fyodor Dostoevsky and Jane Austen’s
“Pride and Prejudice”. When Selene is not reading, she is expressing her creativity through writing and creating art. Debate is another passion of hers and she finds it exciting to discuss and defend her viewpoints with others while also learning about interesting topics in the process. Selene strives to be a determined and thoughtful individual, one that radiates kindness and empathy towards others. She would like to thank her Debate and Speech teacher Megan Carlson.

A young person with short dark hair and glasses smiles at the camera. The photo is black and white, and the background is a plain textured wall.

Storey County

Michael Rees

Michael was born in Las Vegas and moved to Virginia City in 2020. He keeps himself busy with cross country, track and field, robotics, and Boy Scouts. He loves being outdoors and gardening. As an Eagle Scout, Michael can say that Boy Scouts has helped instill in him a love of learning and understanding the world around him, everything from the science to the philosophies of the unknown. And he loves how poetry and poets are able to show these topics with art and grace. He thinks that poetry is better than other art forms because of its ability to convey thoughts, emotions, ideas, or entire personalities through nothing more than a couple of stanzas. Michael would like to thank his mom, Kimberly Rees, his dad, John Rees, his twin brother, John Rees II, and his English teacher Mr. Watts.

A person wearing a headscarf and jacket smiles at the camera while standing next to a snowman in a snowy outdoor setting with trees and mountains in the background.

Washoe County

Rayann Hijazi

Rayann Hijazi is a Muslim Palestinian girl who is excited to be here. She adores poetry and writing and has been passionate about it since she was young. She was born in Albuquerque and has moved frequently around the U.S. Rayann has lived in Reno, Nevada for a few years and is excited to represent her school. She loves art, playing the flute and dreams to work in the medical field someday. She was always a very shy, sensitive kid, so she has quite the fear of public speaking. But she is super excited to be participating in Poetry Out Loud. Rayann would like to thank her mom Abeer Hijazi, her dad Ramzi Hijazi, her sister Noor Hijazi and her English teacher Mr. Lydon.

Focusing on our rich literary heritage and contemporary life through memorization and performance of classic and contemporary poetry, Nevada Poetry Out Loud is a program of the Nevada Arts Council, presented in partnership with National Endowment for the Arts, The Poetry Foundation, Nevada Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, Nevada Department of Education, and Nevada School Districts.