Secaucus High School senior Christina Occhipinti recently placed third in a countywide poetry contest hosted by the Grace Theater Workshop for her poem entitled “The Beauty of Transcendence.”
Out of over 2,500 entries, 40 were read at the awards ceremony that took place at Jose Marti Middle School in Union City on June 27.
“Basically, it’s countywide and it’s open to all kids in the county age 16 and under,” said Megan Fernandez, artistic director of the Grace Theater Workshop, a performing arts organization based in Union City. “We select the top 40 to actually participate in the awards ceremony.”
Members of the top 40 are given a booklet comprised of their work and a chance to read their poem out loud. Family and friends of the winners were allowed to attend the ceremony free of charge. And those in the top three were given a certificate and a cash prize.
Occhipinti said that she writes as a hobby and isn’t even sure how she entered.
“I think my mom entered it for me,” she said. “I write in my free time some. I was bored and I just wrote it.”
Occhipinti’s poem focused on the trials of being a teenager and blossoming as a young woman.
First place went to Maryel Valentino, age 10, from Hoboken, and second went to Kaila Lane, 13, from Jersey City. Fernandez said that with such a diverse age group participating in the event, the poems had to be judged on a curve.
“Some are really simple, and others are more complex,” said Fernandez.
The contest
For judges, Grace Theater turned to educators outside of the county. This was to ensure that judging remained unbiased.
She also said that with the age group varying so greatly, the topics that children write about run the gamut.
“It’s a nice round mixture. It’s cute to hear them write about love and relationships and things like that,” said Fernandez.
Writing future chapters
Christina’s mother, Caroline Occhipinti, said that she and her husband are very proud of Christina.
“She’s always been talented,” said her mother. “This is her gift.”
Caroline Occhipinti said that last year, Christina won first place in an essay contest about Memorial Day.
Despite the accolades from judges, Christina remains humble about her writing ability.
“I’m just good at it, I guess,” she said.
Although she does enjoy writing, Christina has other plans for her future outside of high school.
“I think I want to be a teacher,” Christina said. “I just like working with kids.”
She was a beautiful red rose elegant and fragile
but she was surrounded by jealous weeds
her scent was too unique to fit in
and they all were anticipating for her radiant petals to
fall to the ground
but they were disappointed
because she survived the harshest weather
and when the sun came out
she was more beautiful than ever