Hillsboro Junior High School student, Kori Menke is getting recognized for her creativity and dedication to writing after earning publication in a national Young Writers anthology.
The opportunity began last fall when the Young Writers organization shared information about its writing contest with the Hillsboro English Department. Mrs. Kristen Maerli incorporated the contest into the department’s October descriptive writing unit, asking students to first write full-length stories as part of their regular coursework. Students then took on the challenge of revising their work into 100-word stories to meet the contest’s submission requirements, sharpening their ability to choose precise language and strong imagery.
After the revision process, students were invited to submit their work to the contest. Two students, Kori Menke and Abigayle Delaloye (who has since moved out of the district), chose to take that next step—and both were selected for publication. The students will also be notified in May if they are awarded a $50 Amazon gift card as part of the contest recognition. While Abigayle has since moved out of the district, Kori continues to build on her success at Hillsboro. Watch the accompanying video to hear directly from Kori and Mrs. Maerli about the writing process and what this achievement means.