Bucks High School Poet Of The Year Winners Announced: Where Are They From?

NEWTOWN, PA — Students from four Bucks County high schools have taken top honors in the 2025 Bucks County High School Poet of the Year Contest, officials at the Bucks County Community College announced.

Nilüfer Bektas, a junior at Harry S Truman High School in Bristol Township, has been named the 2025 Bucks County High School Poet of the Year.

Bektas rose to the top of more than 120 entries from all over the county, according to Professor Ethel Rackin, director of the Bucks County Poet Laureate Program, which includes the annual High School Poet of the Year contest. Bektas receives a $300 prize for her winning poems.

Rackin said the judges noted that all entries were strong for the 38th year for the program. Each student submitted three poems, which were judged by current Bucks County Poet Laureate Lake Angela and last year’s poet laureate Tara Tamburello.

The judges also named three runners-up in the contest. They are Evie Lee, a senior at Solebury School, first runner-up; Jack DeBoyace, a junior at Central Bucks East, second runner-up; and Addison Carr, a junior at Central Bucks West, third runner-up.

More than a dozen finalists were also recognized by the judges.

A reading and celebration will take place from 1 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 17 in room 142 of Tyler Hall on the college’s Newtown campus. The event will feature winners, finalists, and judges.

Bucks County Community College is located at 275 Swamp Rd., Newtown 18940, where there is ample free parking. For a campus map and directions, visit bucks.edu/newtown.

38th Annual Bucks County High School Poet of the Year: Final Standings 2025

• Winner: Nilüfer Bektas, Harry S. Truman High School, 11th Grade. Poems: “An Unspoken Eulogy,” “Heat Lightning,” and “Liberty.”
• 1st Runner-up: Evie Lee, Solebury School, 12th Grade. Poems: “losing daylight,” “ahn yin,” and “February.”
• 2nd Runner-up: Jack DeBoyace, Central Bucks High School East, 11th Grade. Poems: “Of,” “They Said,” and “Punctum.”
• 3rd Runner-up: Addison Carr, Central Bucks High School West, 11th Grade. Poems: “Eelgrass,” “Anxiety is a Deer,” and “Dead Deer.”

Finalists

• Jennifer Alpert, Council Rock High School South, 12th
• Steven Belder, Council Rock High School South, 12th
• Avery Devlin, Council Rock High School South, 12th
• Maisarah Aminah Dombrowski, Pennsbury High School, 10th
• Sophia Evola, Central Bucks High School South, 10th
• Anastasiya Golub, Council Rock High School South, 12th
• Jaelyn Graham, Council Rock High School South, 12th
• Patrick Hansell, Council Rock High School South, 12th
• Evelyn Kerr, Central Bucks High School West, 9th
• Jill Melson, Central Bucks High School West, 11th
• Josiah Miller, Calvary Christian Academy, 11th
• Brynn Minko, Council Rock High School South, 12th
• Michael Shalevich, Council Rock High School South, 12th
• Cooper Sherwood, Council Rock High School South, 12th
• Sarah Ustenko, Council Rock High School South, 12th
• Kalena Viera, William Tennent High School, 11th