Two Bakersfield College students won the League of Innovation’s literary competition.
Tony Rodriguez, 32, won first place and $500 in the national competition for his poem “Christmas with Kim,” and Dana Martin, 32, took third place and won $100 in the national level for her personal essay, “The Elephant.”
According to Rodriguez, his factual poem was based on events which took place in 1991. He was a professional rodeo cowboy at the time and suffered a bullriding accident that placed him in a wheelchair for almost two years. His girlfriend at the time, Kim, helped to nurse him back to health. His poem recalls those memories of a Christmas she spent with him.
“It was one of those precious memories of that time, that for that one moment, I felt pure love from her and I wrote it as a kind of dedication to her,” he said.
Martin’s personal essay dealt with her finding her birth family. She was an adopted child and described how “The Elephant” was a symbol of the weight she carried on her shoulders, not knowing her birth family.
“By the end of the story, I find my mother and the elephant is gone,” she said.
Competing in the League of Innovation is a prestigious and important step in pursuing a career in writing whether it’s in personal essay, poem or short story.
Both winners thanked their former and current English instructors for their results.
Rodriguez said that his previous BC instructor, Nancy Edwards, helped to raise his writing confidence and push his poem into competition.
Martin also placed her entry with the aid of her BC English teacher Rebecca Mooney. She said she felt “ecstatic, shocked, and surprised” when she found out she had a winning entry.
“I hadn’t expected it since they had said that they were going to announce the winners in May, and then to find out in August that I had won, I think added to the surprise,” Martin said.