Daeja Loew is the 2019 State Poetry Out Loud Champion! As State Champion, Daeja has earned the right to compete at the National competition in Washington DC at the end of April, and has won a $200 prize for herself and $500 for the high school to spend on poetry books. This is an incredible accomplishment.
Over 500,000 students nationwide participate in this program each year. Daeja joins 52 other students in competing in Washington DC this spring. The National Champion will be awarded a cash prize of $20,000, with the second and third place finishers receiving $10,000 and $5000 respectively.
This is quite the honor for Daeja and for the school district. She is the second student from Altoona in the past three years to qualify for the national competition.