10-year-old New Jersey girl writes poem on Colombian heritage, makes it to Top 10 in poetry contest

Luisa's poem uses the colours of the Colombian flag to reflect her Colombian American identity. A 10-year-old girl from New Jersey has been named among the Top 10 winners of a national poetry competition in the United States for a poem inspired by her Colombian heritage. Luisa Gonzalez, a fifth-grade student from Cherry Hill, received the recognition for her poem All Stitched Together, which was selected from thousands of entries submitted by students across the country.Luisa secured a place in the grades 4 to 6 category of Creative Communication's Summer 2026 poetry contest. Her poem, listed on the competition's official website, draws on the colours of the Colombian flag to explore her identity as a Colombian American. Through the idea of different colours being joined together, she describes how her two cultural backgrounds form part of who she is.According to South Jersey Media, the idea came to Luisa when she was thinking about the Colombian flag and the way its colours fit together. She wanted her poem to reflect her cultural background while encouraging others to take pride in their own identities.Luisa had participated in the competition several times before and received ho...