Young Voices Shine in the 2025 Mattie Stepanek Poetry Contest

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 7, 2025

Mattie BannerMy hero

MY HERO Celebrates Young Poets Who Speak from the Heart

The winners of the 2025 Mattie Stepanek Poetry Contest have been announced — and once again, young writers from around the world have shared powerful, creative, and deeply moving work. This year's entries were judged by Dr. Jeni Stepanek, peace advocate and mother of the late poet and peacemaker Mattie J.T. Stepanek.

Said Jeni, "This year’s entries from high school students were filled with 'heavy' content. My heart goes out to all these young people.”

 HIGH SCHOOL WINNERS

1st Place (TIE):

• Zhiheng Xie – My Home on 9th Street
• Shannon Li – Unspoken Love

2nd Place (TIE):

• Peter Liu – Rory McIlroy
• Vila Song – For Nature’s Unsung Heroes

HIGH SCHOOL – DIFFERENT FORMATS

The Case of the Stinky GasJaden Chen

1st Place: Jaden Chen – The Case of the Stinky Gas. Said Jeni, “Oh my gosh – Mattie would have LOVED this! It totally rocks with fun and creativity.”
2nd Place: Alexander Lyon – Forgetting to Be Grandpa
3rd Place: Rachel Chen – Cowabunga

MIDDLE SCHOOL WINNERS

1st Place: Jubilee Sung – Those of us who have the courage to face the blank page

2nd Place (TIE):

• Reika Fukushima – Behind the Apotheosis
• Anglina Irkutska – Heroes

3rd Place: Natalie Chien – For Those Who Weep Earth and care to save her & For the Scientists Who have captured the songs of icebergs, this poem is for you

Special recognition:

• Ivan Zhang – Derek Sivers

“Thank you, Ivan, for the poem about Mr. Sivers – he sounds like an amazing person!”

• Evan Chan – Untamed Rhymes

“Very intriguing! Thank you for these thoughts.”

 MIDDLE SCHOOL – DIFFERENT FORMATS

1st Place: Emilee Sung – Nai Nai
2nd Place: Oliver Dai – The Giants
3rd Place (TIE):

• Carter Chen – An Everyday Hero
• Alivia Hsu – Before Rosa, Claudette Sat

FILM CATEGORY

Emily SongA Puzzles Kind of Girl

1st Place: Emily Song – A Puzzles Kind of Girl
2nd Place: Victoria Hsu – My Heroic Quest
3rd Place: Natalie Chien – The Glass Butterfly

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Commendations:

Poetry:

• Lucas Chien – Patrick the Penguin

Different Formats:

• Jordan Sung – What I Learned

Jordan SungWhat I Learned

This contest continues the legacy of Mattie J.T. Stepanek, whose own poetry and advocacy for peace inspired people of all ages around the world. Through their writing, these young authors are exploring identity, empathy, justice, science, and hope — and, as Jeni Stepanek says, “sharing their hearts with the world.”

For more on MY HERO’s Mattie Stepanek Poetry Contest 2025 Winners, visit: myhero.com/mattie-stepanek-poetry-contest-2025

The Mattie J.T. Stepanek Poetry Contest seeks heartsongs (poems) about heroes working for peace, human rights and the environment. The contest is unique in that it is open to poets, artists, filmmakers, and spoken word artists of all ages. “A heartsong,” Mattie explained, “doesn’t have to be a song. It can be your message, your feeling - some people might even call it a conscience. Even though that’s not really what it is. It’s what you feel you need to do.”