Students create winning words for UC Blue Ash contest

Anabelle Tittel

Poetry Contest Winner Annabelle Tittel

The University of Cincinnati Blue Ash College is announcing the winners of its 2020 Poetry & Songwriting Contest, which included submissions from college and high school students.

There were 94 poems and 10 songs entered in this year’s contest. They came from students in 11 high schools around the region and among the UC Blue Ash student submissions, more than 30 different majors were represented. For the poetry contest, individual poems were judged in a blind competition to assure fairness to all who entered. It also made it possible for a student who submitted multiple poems to win more than one prize.

Samantha Mumper

Songwriting Contest Winner Samantha Mumper

The English and Communication Department at the college has held the contest for more than a decade to help increase interest in poetry and songwriting among college and high school students. Rhonda Pettit, professor of English at UC Blue Ash, coordinated the contest with help from Amber Kuftic, program coordinator for the English and Communication Department. Willis Music in Florence, Kentucky once again sponsored the event and will provide a new guitar to the winner of the songwriting contest.

Poetry Contest Winners

  • 1st – Annabelle Tittel (UC Blue Ash) for “8mm film is so expensive these days”
  • 2nd – Annabelle Tittel for “Adonis will never love you the way Ares would”
  • 3rd – Sophie Flem (Wyoming High School) for “The Local Rendition of the Law is Conservation”
  • Honorable Mention – Margo D’Agostino (Wyoming High School) for “Linens”
  • Honorable Mention – Annabelle Tittel for “Where the Evergreen Trees Grow Down in the Ditch”

Songwriting Contest Winners

  • 1st – Samantha Mumper (Roger Bacon High School) for “Mermaid”
  • Runner-up – Zoe Nienaber (Roger Bacon High School) for “That’s What I Love About You”

To learn more about the UC Blue Ash College Poetry & Songwriting contest, contact the English and Communication Department at 513-745-5645 or by email at rhonda.pettit@uc.edu.

About UC Blue Ash College

UC Blue Ash College is a regional college within the University of Cincinnati. It offers one of the best values in higher education with access to a nationally recognized UC education in more than 50 degree and certificate programs, as well as tuition that is about half of most colleges and universities. The college is located on a scenic 135-acre wooded campus in the heart of Blue Ash, Ohio. To learn more, call 513-745-5600, visit us online, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagram.

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