2025 Poetry Out Loud State Finals Qualifier Submissions

Welcome to the submissions for Poetry Out Loud Qualifier Round competitors! Each section is divided by school (in alphabetical order), with video submissions inside.

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Burwell High School

Mieke can der Walt

Poem 1: Dawn Chorus by Sasha Dugdale

Poem 2: The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

Cedar Catholic High School

Donnie Schulte

Poem 1:  Battle Hymn of the Republic by Julia Ward Howe

Poem 2: Acquainted with the Night by Robert Frost

Gordon-Rushville High School

Lainey Fillmore

Poem 1: Blade Unplugged by Tim Siebles

Poem 2: All This and More by Mary Karr

Marian High School

Majie Ahana Winfrey

Poem 1: The Mothering Blackness by Maya Angelou

Poem 2: Black Matters by Keith S. Wilson

Omaha Central High School

Levius Spencer

Poem 1: The Statesman by Ambrose Bierce

Poem 2: Ode to the Midwest by Kevin Young

Sandhills High School

Matelyn Zutavern

Poem 1: Anthem for My Belly After Eating Too Much by Kara Jackson

Poem 2: Alive by Natasha Sajé

Skutt Catholic High School

Donnie Shulte 

Poem 1: We Wear the Mask by Paul Laurence Dunbar

Poem 2: Songs for the People by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper

Summerland High School

Carlee Livingston

Poem 1: Ex Libris by Eleanor Wilner

Poem 2: The Sun Came by Etheridge Knight

Wahoo High School

Alaya Wagner

Poem 1: After the Winter by Claude McKay

Poem 2: April Love by Ernest Dowson