CHS Literary Meet Wins First at State

By: Lucile Choudhury

On March 22, Columbus High School’s Literary Team secured first place at the 2025 GHSA-AA State Literary Meet Championship at Georgia Military College. This victory follows a first-place win at the district competition with competitive high schools around Columbus. This competition continues to highlight the dedication, talent, and excellence of CHS students across literature and performance arts.

Literary meets at the GHSA level allow students to showcase their talents in literature and fine arts. This competition includes events like literary interpretations, writing essays, extemporaneous speaking, and music. Students first have a chance to compete at the regional level, with regional champions advancing to the state competition.

At the state tournament, Columbus High students competed across multiple categories: timed literary essays, boys and girls chorus, and extemporaneous speaking. The top placements in each of these categories led to the team’s eventual first-place success.

Darius Carr (11), a member of the boys’ quartet’ stated his appreciation for such an enticing experience.

“My favorite part was seeing other great quartets because it is rare to encounter them when singing,” Carr emphasized.

He enjoys literary meets because it is an exciting opportunity to participate in activities students enjoy outside of school. Carr was selected for the quartet due to his strong skills in the ensemble. He has been involved in chorus for ten years and this year marks his first time competing at the literary meet. However, this does not signal the end of his journey and Carr looks forward to participating next year.

Jahari Gilmore (12) competed in the argumentative essay category, where students had one hour to create a response to a given topic utilizing master reasoning skills.

Looking back at her experience, Jahari states, “I chose to write the argumentative essay because writing is one of my favorite hobbies.”

Like Carr, she enjoys her experience at literary meets because it is another platform to share what she loves! Gilmore states that her favorite moment at the event was “gathering evidence for both sides and crafting a thesis,” all with the thrill of being timed.

With it being her first time competing at a literary meet, she appreciates the ability to refine her skills in writing. This has not simply helped her write essays in school, but she utilizes these skills in all spheres of her life.

“This event has enhanced the quality of essays I’ve written for scholarship applications,” Gilmore asserts.

The literary meets allow students to compete on a unique platform to showcase their talents, refine their skills, and engage in thrilling competition. With this victory, CHS looks forward to competing again next year. They strive to inspire future students to participate in this meet and excel in the areas of literature and performing arts.