Meet Maritza McKenna, Poet Laureate of Gilbert High School

Meet Maritza McKenna, Gilbert High School’s Poet Laureate for the 2021-2022 school year.

She is a senior at Gilbert High School, and your newly appointed Poet Laureate! The Poet Laureate serves as the official poet of Gilbert High School. During her term, October 28 – May 26, 2022 year, Maritza hopes to raise our school-wide consciousness to a greater appreciation of our Gilbert High School story through the reading and writing and sharing of poetry. As Poet Laureate, she will also work with other clubs to promote activities and student participation in campus events.

To qualify for the job, Maritza had to apply online and submit her original poetry. Then, she had to attend the Hearts and Souls Storytellers weekly club meetings, as well as collect over 20 signatures from teachers, staff and students, expressing their support for Maritza as the best ambassador of poetry for our school.

Here’s what she has to say about the importance of poetry and how poetry plays an important role at our school:

“I like to write. I like to express my feelings. I want to be the Gilbert High School Poet Laureate because I want to get others to connect to poetry the same way I connect to it.”

She is joined by other poets in the Hearts and Souls Storytellers Club who seek to support her in her position as Poet Laureate by writing poems, and participating in events. Fellow poet, musical artist, and current senior editor of the Gladiator Times newspaper, Juan Agraz, added, “I feel like I can bring the needs and what’s going on at school through the form of poetry.”

We are excited to welcome our new Poet Laureate and her growing team of fellow poets and storytellers. We encourage all of you to write your stories and poems. What makes your story a Gladiator story? Keep posted for more announcements and news about how POETRY will play an important part in our Gilbert High School journey.