Lallane Guiao, 17, of SSHS got the judges nod for her original poetry titled “Survive,” in the senior division, besting 14 other contestants.
“I wrote this poem because I feel that our culture is slowly dying and we need to keep it alive. If we want our culture to stay alive for the next generations we all have to take a part and instill traditional and cultural values in our children starting at our homes,” Guiao told Variety.
It was Guiao’s third time to join the competition.
“I won prizes in the past competitions. I also joined the Education Day contest and won three years in a row,” said Guiao, the daughter of Hilario and Regina Guiao.
Mikhail Alcantara, 13, of Hopwood Junior High School is the youngest son of musician Jerry Alcantara and wife Ligaya. The boy won first prize in the junior division for performing Sengebau’s “Man and Life” poem. He bested 11 other contestants.
He said he found out about the competition on Friday last week and had only a few days to study and practice his performance.
“I guess I won because I always put my heart in my performance,” he said. “I chose the poem because I realized its message and I was touched by it.”
It was his first time to join the poetry competition but has joined and reached the national level in forensic conferences.
“Just aim for the best and always put everything in your heart and you can achieve whatever it is you want to achieve,” he said.
Two years ago, he won the regional Spelling Bee on Guam and represented the region in the national competition held in Washington, D.C.
The second place winner in the senior division were Anastasia Schweiger and Jimin Ryu, both from Mount Carmel School for their poem titled “Our Small Island is the World’s Biggest Beauty.”
First honorable mention went to Chloe Hofschneider of Tinian High School for her poem “A Culture Never Lost.” The second honorable mention was Lauren Hofschneider of Grace Christian Academy for her poem “Memories of Venetian Shadings.”
In the junior division, Minna Ito of Calvary Christian Academy won second place for her poem “Flame Trees” while Chris Kaipat of Chacha Oceanview Junior High School won third place for her poem “Searching.”
Thomas Manglona of Rota Junior High School was named first honorable mention went to for his poem “Strategy” while second honorable mention went to Yuuki Nishiba of Marianas Baptist Academy for her poem “Old Man and the World.”
The judges for the competition were Cathy Rosario Perry, Robert H. Hunter, Leo Goode, Galvin Deleon Guerrero and Katharyn Tuten-Puckett.
Perry said all the presentations were unique.
“I enjoyed them. Everyone had something special to offer,” she added.
The annual competition was established to support the work of young Micronesian poets and to honor the legacy of the Palauan poet.
