When Isabella Ramirez, a senior at Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts in West Palm Beach, Fla., sits down to write poetry, she hopes her words can provide a voice for the Latinx and LBTQ+ community.

Ramirez is among five high school students in the country named to the 2020 class of National Students Poets, the nation’s highest honor for youth poets. Through the National Students Poets Program, each poet was appointed literary ambassadors in a virtual ceremony and will receive a $5,000 academic award. They will spend the year sharing their passion for poetry through service projects, workshops and public readings. 

Ramirez’s path to becoming a National Student Poet began when she joined her school’s slam poetry team and began participating in youth poetry festivals. Her work has twice been published in her school’s Seeds Literary & Arts Magazine and she is also the editor–in-chief of her school’s yearbook. 

The National Student Poet program was launched in 2011 as a partnership between the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the nonprofit Alliance for Young Artists and Writers. The winners were selected from more than 20,000 applicants.