The Northwood Quill team of seniors Isabel Bors, Rachel Pedigo and Jordan Pollard and freshman Kathleen Hablutzel placed third at the state competition March 23. The Quill is a writing based club that competes against other schools in four categories of writing: Problem Solving, Creative Writing, Argumentative and Literary Analysis. Pollard placed first at the state competition in the Creative Writing category.
“I didn’t know, because I couldn’t stay for the awards ceremony on that day,” Pollard said. “Mrs. Greenlee told me in first period and… I was just so shocked, I wasn’t sobbing, but I was tearing [up] and freaking out. I was just so shocked and honored and happy.”
English teacher and Quill advisor Kathy Greenlee was not surprised that Pollard placed first in the state for creative writing.
“I was really excited for her,” Greenlee said. “Honestly, I was not surprised at all. She’s in my Creative Writing class right now, so I’ve gotten to see her writing up close and personal, so I kind of felt beforehand that that would be the case…. Her writing is very mature compared to many entrants that I judged last year and this year, so I thought she had a good chance going in.”
Pedigo, who competes in the Argumentative category, believes that Pollard excels in the creative writing category.
“I know Jordan really enjoyed bringing out her creative side and straying away from the prompts and delivering a story that was creative,” Pedigo said.
Greenlee expressed the best part of being the advisor of the activity.
“It was nice that we won, and it was awesome that Jordan was state champion, but just having kids who want to write as an extra activity is probably the most satisfying part,” Greenlee said.
Hablutzel wrote for the Problem Solving section.
“In the problem-solution writing, we get a prompt about a common issue, and then we have to analyze the problem and propose solutions,” Hablutzel said. “These were things like high school dropout rates, all of the excess food being thrown away when other people are starving and then the one at states was about solving drug abuse in high schools.”
Hablutzel plans to continue participation in the Quill.
“It was a great experience and an example of the many great activities we have at our school that people should look into,” Hablutzel said.
Pollard gave advice to the future Quill members.
“If you’re going to be in the Quill, just make sure writing is something you have a passion for,” Pollard said. “I mean I love writing, and I’m in Ms. Greenlee’s creative writing class this year. My advice is to take her creative writing class, because it’s a wonderful class, and I’ve learned a lot; you write all the time, and she’s very helpful.”
Greenlee appreciated the time and extra effort that the team put into the event.
“I am just very proud of the team, they worked hard; they took time out of their personal lives, especially on a Saturday and after school,” Greenlee said. “These are students who are all very busy with other things to begin with, so I’m really proud of them for having achieved and performed and also the fact that they just took the time to do it.”
– By Ellie Saksa