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Mattie Stepanek Arts and Poetry Contest 2026

Poetry, Spoken Word, Film, and Illustration Winners!

Credit: MY Hero
The Mattie J.T. Stepanek Peace Foundation and The MY HERO Project in honor of Mattie Stepanek established the Mattie J.T. Stepanek Arts and Poetry Contest in 2020. Mattie was a poet and peace activist who encouraged everyone to sing the song in their heart in their lifetime.

2026 Winners and Finalists

Read our press release HERE 

Overall Winners

Courage is a Crooked Umbrella

By: Zhiheng Xie

The Blueprint of Peace

By: Sarah Ying Pan

Art

High School

First Place Art

The Blueprint of Peace

By: Sarah Ying Pan

Second Place Art

The Lasting Legacy

By: Nikita Neogy

Finalists Art

The Unbroken Leader

By: Aadya Janesh

The Last Spark

By: Nikita Neogy

Bryant

By: Seneca Vanden Heuvel

I ❤️ U Mom

By: Kaly McKibben

Audio

High School

First Place

Courage is a Crooked Umbrella

By: Zhiheng Xie

Second Place

The Key to Courage (audio)

By: Aaron Chen

Gold Drenched and Singing

By: Jasmine Zheng

Third Place

The Pringles

By: Alexander Lyon

Middle School Audio

First Place

Love in the Absence

By: Emilee Sung

Second Place

When Something Living Leaves

By: Ethan Wei

Third Place

The Prufrock Equation

By: IvanZhang

Elementary Audio

First Place

Unspecified Earth Problems

By: Jordan Sung

Audio Finalists

The Girl Who Was a Ribbon

By: Natalie Chien

Penelope's Shroud

By: Isabella Lin

I am

By: R.S.

The Witness

By: Yilin S.

See more of Yilin's poetry here: https://myhero.com/yilin-s-poetry

Stars in My Pocket

By: Abbey Chez

Evolution of a Girl

By: Victoria Hsu

The Right Time (to give up a friend)

By: Victoria Hsu

Poetry

High School Poems

First Place

To be a Dragon

By: Jubilee Sung

Second Place

The Blueprint of Peace

By: Sarah Ying Pan

Courage is a Crooked Umbrella

By: Zhiheng Xie

Also see audio version

Third Place

The Cry of Courage
By: Tessa Francis

Middle School Poems

First Place

Love in the Absence

By: Emilee Sung

Also see audio version

When Something Living Leaves

By: Ethan Wei

Also see Audio Version

The Right Time (to give up a friend)

By: Victoria Hsu

Also see audio version

Elementary Poems

First Place

Unspecified Earth Problems

By: Jordan Sung

Finalists

The Key to Courage

By: Aaron Chen

Also see audio version

The Witness

By: Yilin S.

See more of Yilin's poetry here: https://myhero.com/yilin-s-poetry

Penelope's Shroud

By: Isabella Lin

See also Audio verison

I AM

By: R.S.

See also Audio version

Gold Drenched & Singing

By: Jasmine Zheng

See also audio version

Stars in My Pocket

By: Abbey Chez

See also in Audio

The Pringles

By: Alexander Lyon

See also in Audio

Screen Addicts Anonymous

By: Alyssa Wu

The Girl Who Was a Ribbon

By: Natalie Chien

The Pickled Truth

By: Alivia Hsu

Inclusion At Woodstock

By: Carly Ruderman

Evolution of a Girl

By: Victoria Hsu

Also see audio version

The Prufrock Equation

By: Ivan Zhang

See also Audio version

Films

High School Films

First Place

She Walks In Beauty
By: Janaya Beaujuin

Second Place

Narada Griffin-Bey Cine-Poem
By: Narada Griffin-Bey

Third Place

The little prince
By: Jimena Jimenez

Middle School Films

First Place

When Something Living Leaves

By: Ethan Wei

Finalists

Heart to Heart-cinepoem
By: Sofia Mahmud
A Moment Alone cine poem
By: Rooseverlie Josma
Moral Discount
By: Analise Priester
Americano
By: Martin Van Buren

On Compassion

By: Ivan Zhang

The Pringles

By: Alexander Lyon

Screen Addicts Anonymous

By: Alyssa Wu
Hey Black Child cine-poem
By: Olivia Desir

Patrick the Penguin

By: Lucas Chien

My Heroic Quest (animated version)

By: Victoria Hsu

About Mattie Stepanek

Learn more about Mattie's poetry and extraordinary life fighting a rare form of muscular dystrophy.

Mattie Stepanek

By: Nathan Smith
A short animated tribute to poet hero Mattie Stepanek. The soundtrack features the St. Paul's Episcopal Day School choir singing a song inspired by one of Mattie's poems.

"For Our World" a poem by Mattie Stepanek

Child peace activist and poet, Mattie Stepanek, wrote this poem after the tragedy of September 11. Read the poem that has touched millions.

Judge: Jeni Stepanek

Jeni Stepanek

By: Jeanne Meyers

One of the most inspiring activists for peace on the planet

See Previous Winners

Mattie Stepanek Poetry Contest 2025

By: Abigail Richardson
poetry contest

Mattie Stepanek Poetry Contest 2024

By: Abigail Richardson
Mattie Stepanek Poetry Contest 2024

Organizer created on 5/9/2026 4:38:44 AM by Abigail Richardson

Last edited 7/1/2026 4:11:51 AM by Abigail Richardson

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