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After three rounds of powerful recitations at the Poetry Out Loud state finals, Illinois Poet Laureate and special guest Angela Jackson gazed out over the talented high school competitors and declared their performances "a feast for the heart."
Thirteen students from across Illinois gathered at the Hoogland Center for the Arts on Monday, March 17, vying for the opportunity to represent the prairie state at the national contest in Washington, D.C., this May.
Emerging as the 2025 Illinois Poetry Out Loud State Champion was Mikiah Gerrity from Rockford’s Thomas Jefferson High School. Selected by a recitation and accuracy judges, Gerrity captivated the audience with her recitations of “Oranges” by Roisin Kelly, “The New Decalogue” by Ambrose Bierce, and “The Definition of Love” by Andrew Marvell. With guidance from her teacher, Douglas McArthur, Gerrity became the first student from Rockford to win the state competition.
Callie Standerfer from the University of Illinois Laboratory High School in Urbana earned second place in the competition.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Poetry Out Loud, a program that continues to flourish in Illinois. Nearly 7,900 students and 200 teachers from 48 high schools took part in this year’s Poetry Out Loud program.
2025 Illinois Poetry Out Loud regional winners and their high schools:
- Vanessa Perez Cano – Stephen T. Mather, Chicago
- Jaden Conley – Niles West, Skokie (state finalist)
- Lana Cooper – University of Illinois Laboratory, Urbana
- Jada Jackson – Southeast, Springfield
- Charles Kaffer – High School for Agricultural Sciences, Chicago
- Alaina Morgan – Freeburg Community, Freeburg
- Vivian Neukomm – Eureka, Eureka (state finalist)
- Jayden Richardson – Freeburg Community, Freeburg
- Grant Smith – Thomas Jefferson, Rockford
- Elliana Sheehan – Wheaton-Warrenville South, Wheaton (state finalist)
- Kinley Stoller – Eureka, Eureka
The Illinois Poetry Out Loud program is a collaboration between the Illinois Arts Council and six regional arts agencies. The 2025 state competition was coordinated by Susan Dickson, Illinois Arts Council state program manager, and Sheila Walk, education director of the Springfield Area Arts Council. Recitation judges included Scottlynn Ballard (Chicago), Judy Jordan (Carbondale), Dominic Saunders (Chicago), and David Wright (Monmouth), with Thèa Chesley (Springfield) serving as the accuracy judge.
Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, working in partnership with state arts agencies nationwide. The initiative fosters an appreciation for classic and contemporary poetry through analysis, memorization, performance, and competition while building both performance skills and self-confidence. Students from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and Puerto Rico participate annually.
