Mastic Beach, NY - February 7, 2018 - Desiree DeMelfi, an 11th grader at William Floyd High School, is the winner of the first schoolwide “Poetry Out Loud” competition, a national program that encourages students to learn about great poetry through memorization and recitation as they master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about how poetry can enrich their lives. With her victory, Desiree will now have the opportunity to compete against other high school poets at the Long Island Regional Poetry Out Loud competition at Stony Brook University on February 12. The winner of this competition will represent Long Island in the state finals in Syracuse, NY, in March. Accompanying Desiree to Stony Brook University will be runner-up, senior, Bonny Tran.
Special thanks to the contest coordinators, Viveca Nargi, Liz Andreopoulos and Greg Gunder, judges Principal Phil Scotto, Christine Goodyear, Amanda Irish and Stacy Redmond, and score tabulator, Christine Rosado.