After competing against 11 other students in a school wide Poetry Out Loud competition, sophomore Jordan Goldberg received first place and has won the privilege of competing against state finalists at the Des Planes Public Library on Friday, Feb. 15 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Goldberg recited the poem ““Calling Him Back From Layoff ” by Bob Hicok, along with “Domestic Situation” by Ernest Hilbert. He will also need to work on a third poem to compete in Des Planes.

“It feels really nice, I honestly didn’t really expect to win, but it’s a great opportunity. Hopefully I can go on even farther and represent Niles West in the higher competition,” he said.

Sophomore Rita Carmona received second place after reciting “Lazy”  by David Yezzi and “Reverie in Open Air ” by Rita Dove. Third place was awarded to sophomore Sherlina Chauhan after she recited “The Layers” by Stanley Kunitz and “For the Young Who Want To”  by Marge Piercy.

“THEY’RE ALL {MY STUDENTS]!!!  I couldn’t be prouder!” English teacher Sharon Swanson wrote in an email.

The semi-finalists said they are happy they auditioned.

“I really love reading poetry and it’s so cool that I get to do that and people think I’m good at it. Listening to other people read is also really cool, Jordan, Sherlina, and all the other semifinalists are amazing,” Carmona said.

“I enjoy Poetry Out Loud so much because it’s so similar to theatre. Just watching all of the poems by people I wouldn’t expect to do it was so great,” Chauhan said.