AHS students in Arrowhead’s Creative Writing classes earned themselves numerous different awards from the Rachel Carson Landmark Alliance.

The RCLA is a nonprofit organization that hosts an intergenerational writing competition where people are able to submit their pieces, either a poem (with a photo or without) or an essay (with a photo or without). Intergenerational collaboration can be with a parent or someone else.

Rachel Carson was a nature enthusiast whose dreams were encouraged by her mother, and the death of her father further enhanced the responsibility to take care of the environment due to financial struggles, propelling her to enter writing into numerous magazines.

In the 2021 RCLA writing competitions, Arrowhead students recognized include Vivian Hastings, Anna Nguyen, Hope Stiverson, Leah Airoldi, Luke Behringer, Illianna Davis, Asher Harder, Jacob Bloomer, Henry Kotarski, Sara Low, Vicent Nguyen, Kirsten Phelps,  Riley Rogers, Allison Slaski, Bennett Wetzel, Fynn Lyons, Jack Steiner, Grace Schneider, Samuel Jackson, Elizabeth Ganos, Eleanor Hostetler, Sydney Snedden, Alex Raab, Katarina Weber, Samantha Landis, Lacey Zawadzki, Jenna Emons, and finally Nathan Wilde. 

Their pieces can be found here.

Davis wrote her piece “Harmony of the Ocean” (which received second place) for her girlfriend. She said this was due to her admiration for the ocean. She said being tasked to write about nature instantly made her think of the ocean.

Davis says, “I wanted to write about something a lot of us know, our senses, as a way to show how we can describe something seeming basic in a very in-depth way.”

Davis was elated to her about her second place, especially since most of her classmates emailed her their congratulations. “I just read the emails smiling really wide because I did not expect to win at all.”

Jackson was a second-place winner for his piece “As the Tree Feels the Loss.” He said he was surprised because he was sure he wasn’t going to win anything.

Ganos titled her piece, “The World at my Fingertips” which obtained the title of honorable mention.

Ganos was inspired to write her poem after surfing her camera roll and found a photo of her sitting atop a rock overlooking a view.

Ganos says, “I loved that picture so much and I think that there was so much beauty in the nature of that photo.”

Landis’s piece “Peace and Power”, a first-place winner, was heavily influenced by her appreciation for the ocean. Landis says, “I have been to many beaches in California…Moon Stone Beach is one of my favorite beaches.”

Landis was amazed to hear about winning 1st place. “I was really surprised to find out I won 1st place because I don’t really like to write and usually don’t think I am a good writer.”

Davis shares a final message, “I suggest to anyone who wants to submit a piece to a competition to go for it. You lose nothing but a few minutes of your time and no matter if you win or not, it’s always beneficial to use your creativity.”