The Stanislaus County Youth Poet Laureate program was spearheaded in 2023 by local nonprofit Modesto-Stanislaus Poetry Center, with the support of partners Stanislaus County Office of Education (SCOE), Stanislaus County Library, and MJC's School of Language Arts & Education. And this month, MJC's Library & Learning Center comes on board as a partner, and we couldn't be more thrilled! The Youth Poet Laureate program is open to poets, ages 15-19, who live or attend schools in Stanislaus County. Our L & LC is proud to join hands with the county's public library system in supporting this program.
We’ll be celebrating our incoming youth poet laureate, Valentina Zeff, at a reading/reception at Modesto Junior College’s Science Community Center at 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 31. Come join us to listen to a few of Valentina's poems, meet youth poets, and learn about the youth poet laureate program.
Valentina Zeff is a sixteen year old poet from Modesto, California who is currently enrolled in the International Baccalaureate program at Modesto High School. Zeff has been writing free verse and ballad poetry since her freshman year of high school.
Valentina is active within her community and school through social and environmental activism and extracurricular projects and volunteerism. She was selected as a member of the Park’s Youth Committee (April 2024-current), Modesto Youth Commission (October 2024-current), and student representative for Modesto High School’s Student Senate for both ninth and tenth grade. During the 2023-2024 Speech and Debate season, she was a top finalist for Original Spoken Word Poetry at State Qualifications. She is also the founder and Co-President of Modesto High School’s Book Club where she leads discussions on novels and poems of interest. Additionally, she is the Secretary and head layout editor/designer of the Panther Press, Modesto High School’s monthly newspaper.
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