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Tyrone Area High School senior Ashlynn McKinney is one of 14 regional champions to compete in the 2023 Pennsylvania Poetry Out Loud State Finals, organized by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts in March.
"I feel very excited to have won," McKinney said. "I knew going into it that this competition would be a lot harder than the first, which was also difficult, but I liked the feeling of accomplishment after making the videos to submit and winning just felt like an extra joy. I also felt very blessed to have had a lot of support from my teachers and the ability to have access to resources to help me do my best."
McKinney won Tyrone Area's live competition on December 13, 2022 and won the Pennsylvania Region 12 virtual competition on January 20, 2023 for local champions in Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Fayette, Somerset, Westmoreland Counties.
"All (of) the students did a fantastic job this year, and the competition was stiff," Kristin Miller, education coordinator at the Southern Alleghenies Museum of the Art and organizer of the event, said.
McKinney's three pre-recorded poetry recitations for the state competition will be scored by a panel of judges from around the commonwealth on physical presence, voice and articulation, dramatic appropriateness, evidence of understanding, overall performance, and accuracy.
The state champion and runner-up will be announced online on March 13. The state champion wins $200 for self and $500 for school and a trip to National Finals on May 8-10 in Washington D.C.
In 2022 another Tyrone Area student, Mario Grugan, found success in Poetry Out Loud as the Pennsylvania State Champion and one of nine national finalists.