Christiana’s featured poem in the international competition was titled, Your Yellow Paint. While writing this poem, she drew inspiration from the life and works of Vincent van Gogh and his ability to capture beauty through personal pain. “I’ve always loved his work,” shared Christiana. “I have always resonated with how he found beauty in things, even though he struggled with so much darkness.”

Christiana also earned the prestigious Delta College Skip Renker Creative Writing Award for her 20-poem portfolio submission. “In her poems, she takes on powerful, personal experiences, but in her way also makes them universal,” shared Jeffery Vande Zande, Delta College English professor.

When Christiana returned to school last year, it was initially an investment to advance her administrative career. But after her first English class, she remembered how much she loved to write. Now with several creative and advanced writing courses and a few awards under her belt, she’s empowered to continue sharing her captivating poetry with the world. Her award-winning work will be published in the League for Innovation’s annual literary anthology this fall.