Pictured, top row, left to right: Samuel Aristich, Favour Enakhimion, Angelica Gomes, lsaiah Laborde, and Jalen Lyle, of Newark, NJ. Bottom row: Aminah Mack and Ijanaeah Tucks, of Newark, NJ; Mar’Reyshia Haynes and Janylaah Sanders, of Pine Bluff, AR. Not pictured: Traron Henderson, of Pine Bluff, AR.

 in News

10 Students in Newark (New Jersey) and Pine Bluff (Arkansas) Earn National Awards for Excellence in Art and Writing

Literary magazine highlights the creativity of 29 youth writers and artists of color

Pathways to College has named 10 public school students in Newark (NJ) and Pine Bluff (AR) as the winners and honorable mentions for the nonprofit after-school program’s annual literary magazine, Scholar Voices. The 2023 issue features 29 youth writers and artists of color representing high schools in Arkansas, Indiana, and New Jersey, in grades 9 – 12. This year’s genres are art, essay, memoir, photography, and poetry.

“It is our great pleasure to celebrate the creativity, ideas, and dreams of our wonderful Pathways Scholars, as they look ahead to all that is available and possible in their lives,” said Pathways to College Founder and President Judith Berry Griffin. “Each year, we learn what our Scholars are finding compelling, from their submissions to Scholar Voices. This year, courageous leadership, an important component of our curriculum, is clearly on their minds.”

The award winners are listed below by city.

Newark, New Jersey

  • Samuel Aristich, Winner: “Thoughts on Three Quotes by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” (essay), East Side High School
  • Favour Enakhimion, Winner: “Four Years of My Life” (memoir), West Side High School
  • Angelica Gomes, Winner: “Woman” (art), East Side High School
  • Isaiah Laborde, Honorable Mention: “The Final Stretch” (poetry), West Side High School
  • Jalen Lyle, Winner: “Leadership” (essay); Winner: “Reflection” (poetry), Central High School
  • Aminah Mack, Winner: “What the Eye Sees” (photography), Malcolm X Shabazz High School
  • Ijanaeah Tucks, Honorable Mention: “Too Blind” (art), East Side High School

Pine Bluff, Arkansas

  • Mar’Reyshia Haynes, Honorable Mention: “Violence Is Pain” (poetry), Dollarway High School
  • Traron Henderson, Winner: “Rap” (poetry); Honorable Mention: “Unusual to the Father Figure” (memoir), Robert F. Morehead Middle School
  • Janylaah Sanders, Winner: “The Shadows” (poetry), Dollarway High School

Submissions are reviewed by jury including published authors and teachers of English and language arts. The awardees will receive a gift card worth $100 for each winner and $50 for the honorable mentions. Print copies of Scholar Voices are being distributed to awardees, all Scholars, program teachers, and donors.

To recognize the gifts and talents of each student, their interests, and their multifaceted ways of self-expression, Scholar Voices has been honoring the creativity of Scholars since the early 1990s, when Pathways was in development at A Better Chance. In 2023, the magazine continued a recent tradition of including contributions from the program’s distinguished alumni.

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Contact: Alyssa Alston, Director of Communications | communications@pathwaystocollege.org | 202-924-1691

Pathways to College is an after-school program providing information, guidance and support to help African American and other students of color become the best high school students, college applicants and college students they can be to prepare for lifelong success. Although we welcome all students of color, we focus on under-served African American high school students, whose potential has been marginalized for generations.