Prologue
Bright and strong, the tall goldenrod is South Carolina’s state wildflower. We think Solidago altissima also represents our state’s best young writers. Here are 26 of them, each of whom composed an original response to our annual question, “How can we make South Carolina better?” Read on and take heart. These writers are bright and strong indeed.
Winners
First Place – Change Begins with Us: Tackling Systemic Racism To Improve Our State by Jada Robinson
Second Place – My Silence, My Shield by Diya Kakkar
Third Place – The Palmetto Blueprint by Mary Soutter Pack
Honorable Mention – A Price Too High: The Cost of Book Bans by Pranavi Mancham
Argumentative Essays
The Youth Leaders of Tomorrow by Khyree Lucas
Investing in Our Future by Sree Mekala
Environmental Artivism: Preserving South Carolina’s Wild Heart by Molly Mettler
Teach the Problem by Harper Moody
A Right to Carry, a Right to Kill by Grace Perkins
The Parallel of Special Relativity by Miguel Shim
When the Lights Go Out by Victoria Stone
On My Drive Home by Logan G. Wells
Letter
Woes of a Road by Hadley Leonhardt
Personal Essays
Breaking Down Walls: A Blueprint for Connection in South Carolina by Leen Darwisha
A Face Beyond the Diagnosis by Aine Kim
My Name, My Story by Kaylee Leonard
My Inner and Outer Conflict by Dianalys Ruiz
The Scars that Run Deep by Luz Estrella Salado-Perez
I Don’t Bite by Gabby Smothers
A Blue South Carolina by Gwenny Svendsen
“El Cambio” (The Change) by Angelica Tenorio-Gonzalez
Poetry
Small Hands, Heavy Burdens by Noelle Benoit
Palmetto Roots by Emily Helie
Dear South Carolina by Rose Miller
Short Stories
In a South Carolina Classroom by Kayla Diaz-Janes
Red, White, and Blue by Payton Ware
Acknowledgments
The annual South Carolina High School Writing Contest wouldn’t be possible without other individuals and organizations. We thank South Carolina Honors College alumnus Thad Westbrook, the Pat Conroy Literary Center; the South Carolina State Library (Leesa Aiken, director); South Carolina Academy of Authors (Wilmot Irvin, chair); and the South Carolina Writers Association (Ash Smith, president). We also thank Claire Jimenez, grand judge for this year’s contest, and the many high school guidance counselors and teachers who encouraged students to submit. The students in the fall 2025 semester of SCHC 384, Finding Your Voice: Writing and Editing for Life, were the first editors of volume 13. They are Ashley Chittum, Caitlin Ferry, Rachel Joel, Sy’Mone Miles, Ava O’Donnell, Caroline Orr, Jia Patel, Rithi Ramamurthy, Basil Roquemorea and Abby Short.