2025-26 FINALS CEREMONY
Samuel Bak Museum, 2289 S 67th St., Omaha
7 p.m. Saturday, April 5, 2025
The Youth Poet Laureate competition identifies influential youth poets with a history of artistic success, civic and community engagement, social justice initiatives, and leadership.
YPL is a joint initiative of Urban Word NYC and the Nebraska Writers Collective. This is a national network that begins, for us, at the state level, and produces poets like our 2021 Inaugural Poet, Amanda Gorman. The winner of the Nebraska YPL title will have the opportunity to apply for the regional and national competitions.
PROGRAM
Welcome
Introduction of Finalists
Commentary from Sam Lee, 2024-25 Creative Mentor
Poem by Miranda Davis
Crowning the 2025-26 Nebraska YPL
Thank You!
MEET THE 2025 FINALISTS
Victoria Bogatz is a junior at Bellevue East High School. She is a poet, student journalist, and fiction writer whose work aims to capture complex emotions on current issues, mental health struggles, and snapshots of teenage life. Bogatz’s writing has been published in Best Nebraska Teen Writing 2024 and the 2021 Bow Seat Yearbook, among others. In 2022, her poem “A Bit of Solace” was set to music as part of the Opera Omaha Poetry & Music Project. When not writing, Bogatz likes to read, go on long runs, pet her dog, and plan environmental revolutions.
FINALISTS
Gabrielle Burns is a junior at Millard North High School, where she is pursuing an International Baccalaureate diploma. Burns is curious, perceptive, and a nature lover, and she uses poetry and imagery from nature to express themes of resilience, introspection, and timeless beauty found in ordinary moments. Burns hopes to encourage readers to find silver linings and find a deeper, more meaningful connection with the world around them. Her work has been recognized by Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, the National Speech and Debate Association, Kidizenship, and the Nebraska Writing Project for the Poetry of Place Celebration. Engaged in activities like speech, Codes and Puzzles Club, and Science Olympiad, Burns values curiosity, creativity, resilience, and education. In her free time, she enjoys walks, all forms of the arts, and time with her pets and family, as well as exploring new places through travel.
FINALISTS
Raven Cranny is a junior at Millard South High School and is involved in many things including poetry and public speaking. Raven uses their experiences growing up in the Nebraska suburbs as a strong theme in their poetry to conceptualize tough topics like existentialism and the struggles of domestic family life. They are a strong student leader and use their connections within their community to build a strong network of people who want to better their community. Raven has been elected to their school’s Nationally-recognized student council of service-minded individuals for three years running and recently accepted the position of their Slam Poetry team’s student co-captain while running their social media as well. In their free time, Cranny enjoys reading, camping with their family, and volunteering through their connections in the Millard area.
FINALISTS
Alex Hamric is a junior at Lincoln East High School. As an avid reader and activist, Hamric’s poetry uses poignant word choice and intricate metaphors to explore themes of queerness, mental health, trauma, and politics. Hamric’s poetry has been featured in the Lincoln East Muse, has placed 2nd at the Larksong Writer’s Place, with their poem Lolita earning a perfect score, and has qualified for the 2025 NCTE Achievement Awards in Writing. They are an active member of the NSDA placing top 60 in the nation for extemporaneous debate. In their free time, Hamric enjoys music, research, teaching, and, of course, writing.
Katelyn Grace Omer (she/her) is a sophomore at Millard North High School in Omaha, Nebraska. She is passionate about poetry, which has given her purpose and the strength to always give life another chance. Her vulnerable work aims to spread mental health awareness and inspire healing, hope and change for the better in others on a personal and community level. Other joys of her life include her loved ones, laughter, travel, show choir, cookies and good humans. Best Nebraska Teen Writing, the American Library of Poetry and others have published her pieces - which she is currently compiling into a chapbook!
FINALISTS
FINALISTS
MEET THE JUDGES
Andrew Ek is a former teacher and co-founded what is now the All Writes Reserved program. He served as the NWC’s education director from 2009 to 2014. Andrew currently works as a principal software engineer and lives in Lincoln with his wife, daughter, and one remarkably adequate orange cat.
Eduardo Gardea is a self-employed visual artist and poet based in Nebraska. His work spans painting, murals, and installation art that uplifts the stories of marginalized communities. In 2019, he self-published a poetry collection titled The Ocean and the Tides. Eduardo’s practice is grounded in reclaiming public space and raising awareness of the immigrant, Indigenous, and working-class experience.
Nancy S. Gillis is a historian and former Executive Director of the John Neihardt State Historic Site. Of Cherokee and Choctaw heritage, she’s spent decades educating others on Native American history and Neihardt’s legacy. Nancy has taught at several Nebraska colleges and received the Addison Sheldon Award and a commission as Admiral in the Great Navy of Nebraska. She continues to present through Humanities Nebraska and serve on numerous boards.
JUDGES
Aryn Huck is a writer and community organizer who focuses on LGBTQ+ advocacy. Their work explores themes of queer identity and power through fantasy and speculative fiction. Aryn helps everyday advocates turn their personal experiences into compelling narratives and has been published in Laurus and Wolves.Gay. They are passionate about building inclusive communities through storytelling and activism.
Tina Le is a Vietnamese-American poet, educator, and lifelong Nebraskan. She’s been involved with the Nebraska Writers Collective in many roles—including Teaching Artist and Teacher Sponsor. Tina teaches English at both high school and college levels and is currently pursuing a PhD in Composition and Rhetoric at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.
Angelique Palmer is a performance poet, educator, and Spoken Word instructor at Wilkes University’s MFA program. Her work has appeared in anthologies including The Queer Cookies Poetry Cookbook and Sign & Breath. A top-ranked slam poet, she’s the author of THE CHAMBERMAID’S STYLE GUIDE and ALSO DARK. A New Orleans native, Angelique now lives in Fairfax County, Virginia, where she teaches kindergarten and makes her own ice cream.
Laurie Yocom has served as director of the Wilson Public Library in Cozad for the past 15 years, hosting poetry programs featuring local and national voices. A lifelong Nebraskan and UNL alumna, Laurie is an advocate for literacy, education, and the arts in rural communities. Her current reads include Cotton Candy: Poems Dipped Out of the Air by Ted Kooser and Devotions by Mary Oliver.
JUDGES
JUDGES
MEET THE MENTORS
Allie Christianson is a Senior Community Organizer at Civic Nebraska for the Collective Impact Lincoln (CIL) Initiative, where she works alongside Everett and Near South residents to support their dreams and schemes—from skill-sharing and creative placemaking to advocacy that helps keep neighbors safe and housed. As Miranda’s civic mentor, Allie helped lead a poetry workshop series at Pepe’s Bistro and is currently co-organizing a statewide poetry anthology on healing.
Sam Lee is a teaching artist from Nebraska. He has worked with the Nebraska Writers Collective since 2015. He has also been a line cook, a librarian, and a drummer. He is passionate about teaching poetry in high schools and in prisons. In 2024, he started acting as the Youth Poet Laureate Creative Mentor and has taught at Norris High School, Standing Bear High School, Southeast High School, and the Nebraska State Penitentiary.
2024-25 NEBRASKA YOUTH POET LAUREATE
Miranda Davis is Nebraska’s 4th Youth Poet Laureate. With roots from across the state, she was born in Bellevue and currently lives in Hickman. She attends the University of Iowa, where she is pursuing her BA in English and Creative Writing with a minor in psychology. She writes to connect communities and help people heal through words. Miranda’s work has appeared in multiple local anthologies, and her slam poetry has received 1st place ranking across the region. She was recently recognized as the Midwest Youth Poet Laureate runner-up for 2024. Her upcoming chapbook, Take Her Home, was inspired by her growing up in a rural community, her family, and her experiences in the world she is still learning about.
here we are
By Miranda Davis 2024-25 Nebraska Youth Poet Laureate
There is hope at the end of the world.
This season of growth Blesses us with the opportunity And the strength To create.
We heal our communities And find a place
To plant the roots
That foster a foundation Of necessary understanding.
We are asking To be heard.
We are asking To be valued.
We are asking To connect.
Together
We are grateful For the space
For the words
That fill our souls
With bright passion.
There is hope at the end of the world
Because you whispered and you screamed:
I am here and I have something to say.
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