Episode Details

Superintendent:
Welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. Today, we talked to a very talented young writer whose powerful words are now getting national recognition and will be on display in the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, Fort Herriman Middle School's Sophia Parsons won what is called the Do the Right Thing Challenge, which is part of a national campaign to stop youth violence. On this episode of the Supercast, we'll hear from the teacher who is inspiring young teens, like Sophia, to use their words and life lessons to advocate for change. But first, let's talk with Sophia Parsons.

We're very happy to be here with Sophia Parsons. Sophia is an eighth grade student at Fort Herriman Middle School, and she is receiving national recognition for her writing. And I wanted to find out more about what she wrote and what that recognition is that she's receiving. Sophia, thanks for joining me on the Supercast.

Sophia:
Thank you for having me. It's a very interesting experience.

Superintendent:
Well, it's exciting for me to be able to talk with you. I sure miss being in schools and having the chance to talk with students and teachers and this Zoom meeting is as close as I could possibly get. I'm really excited to talk with you. It was about in eighth grade that I started to get really excited about writing, mostly because of a particular teacher I had. Before we get into the specifics of the award, what is it that you like about writing and what drew you to this contest?

Sophia:
Well, I wouldn't have thought to enter this contest at all if it wasn't for school. My teacher, for our unit about The Outsiders, started having the conversation about youth violence and she suggested the contest to us and had us all write an essay. Whether or not we wanted to submit it was up to us. And so I just wrote it all down one night, because I wasn't that satisfied with what I was, where I was going with it. Got it down, submitted it the next week. And it kind of disappeared until now.

Superintendent:
That sounds very much like what accomplished writers do. They sit down. The idea is there, the fire is burning and at a fever pitch, they just write it and it just comes out. And there it is. That's kind of how it went for you.

Sophia:
Yeah. It's either a lot of hard work to try and formulate abstract thoughts or just one big fever, dream of inspiration.

Superintendent:
So what is the name of the contest and what recognition have you received for your work?

Sophia:
It's called the Do the Right Thing Contest where students send in their essays about youth violence, what they can do to prevent youth violence and how you feel it has affected them. As far as recognition, it's been insane. We've had a couple conference meetings over Zoom, and things like that where I know it's the finalists. And then they announced the national finalists and things like that. And I got a couple goody bags from the committee today. I got a food gift card and that was really, really nice.

Superintendent:
Now, your writing going to be including in a book, is that correct?

Sophia:
Yeah. I heard that it was going to be included in a book in Congress. So it's kind of mind blowing.

Superintendent:
Yeah, i