Sophie Da Silva '26 Receives Country's Highest Honor for Youth Poets
The National Student Poets Program (NSPP) is the country’s highest honor for youth poets presenting original work. Five outstanding high school poets whose work exhibits exceptional creativity, dedication to craft, and promise are selected annually for a year of service as national poetry ambassadors.
National Student Poets are chosen from among the regional Gold Key winners in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards with input from a jury of established poets and leaders in education and the arts. Throughout their year of service, the Poets will serve as literary ambassadors and will share their passion for poetry, literacy, and the literary arts with their communities and throughout their regions. This will be done through activities that include service projects, workshops, and public readings. In addition, each Poet will receive a $5,000 academic award.
The National Student Poets were selected from students in grades 10–11 who received top honors in poetry. In 2025, more than 37,000 works of poetry were initially submitted to the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. From this pool, 50 semi-finalists were identified as the most gifted young poets in their regions, based on their exceptional creativity, dedication to craft, and promise, and were invited to submit additional poetry and performance videos to distinguished jurors for the final selection of the five National Student Poets.
For over a century, the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, currently presented by the nonprofit Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, have advocated for and uplifted the interests, abilities, and experiences of countless creative teens, validating their artistic abilities and certifying that their voices truly do matter. Some of the program’s most notable alumni include Ken Burns, Derek Fordjour, José Parlá, Kay WalkingStick, Sylvia Plath, Andy Warhol, Charles White, Amanda Gorman, Tschabalala Self, Joyce Carol Oates, and Tracy Reese, all of whom received recognition through the program as teens. Read more about the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards from Scholastic news here.
Sophie Da Silva is a Houston-based poet of Mexican and French Portuguese descent. Through her work, she hopes to explore her multicultural background as well as the experiences that make one human. Sophie is driven by a desire to create space for others and tell stories with her authentic voice. She has been recognized by YoungArts as a winner with distinction in poetry, Girls Write Now, and the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers. When she is not writing, Sophie loves drinking matcha, acquiring Japanese stationery, and going on runs with her team. Read more about the other four winners here.
