Literary Contest 2018 Experience

I had the opportunity to attend the Literary Contest being held on the 23 of may 2018. I went there to support my friend Isabel since she had won a prize on the contest. I went with Kiara and Francellys and when we got there we also saw Angela since she had also won a prize. This activity made

I got there earlier so I was helping Prof. Olivares set up the snack table as people started to arrive, then everyone went inside. I really enjoyed the activity because it didn't take a long time, and everyone's works where very fun to listen to. Prof. Elidio La Torre was the guest speaker, and this made me very excited because I will be taking class with him next semester. He gave a speech about how everyone has a fire inside of them and we should do our best to keep it burning. He mentioned that stories make up who we are and that we are made of tales. I really loved the way he expressed himself and it made me even more happier to know that he will become my professor. Isabel won second place in the Essay section and we all cheered very loudly for her. I realized that this class gave me friends that I really love having around and I'm forever thankful for it.

Two of the winners were women from jail that are having the opportunity to take classes as they serve their sentence. It was amazing to hear these women speak, one of them expressing how thankful she was to be there and how the program really is helping with her rehabilitation. Everyone was clapping very loudly for them and they seemed happy. I love that the university is doing this because these people really need rehabilitation to get back into society and by being in this program they are being productive while getting an education. Angela won first place in the essay section and when she went to read her essay we also yelled very loudly, and I think we were even being a little obnoxious!

As the ceremony ended one of the professors stood up to give the finishing words and said something that really made me smile. He thanked everyone for coming and talking directly to the students he said, “We hear you and we see you”. He talked about how they knew everyone was struggling during this semester and that made me happy because as students we usually feel as if we are invisible. We are all going through a lot after the hurricane and now with this semester that has been tough that it can feel as if no one really cares. It was nice to hear his encouraging words and try to reassure us that people do care. The activity was nice and well prepared, I loved the speech that Prof.
Elidio La Torre gave and I loved the fact that everyone who won had the opportunity to read their work.

Isabel speaking when she received her prize.

Angela speaking when she received her prize.