The 2024 Pathways to College literary magazine, Scholar Voices, features the work of four Pine Bluff students.
A national publication, Scholar Voices is an annual literary magazine that highlights the creativity of 29 young writers and artists, according to a news release.
Honorees from Pine Bluff School District and their projects are:
Traron Henderson: rap — “Scholar Voices Rap.”
Jah’Miyah Matthews: back cover photography — “Eye Hide,” and poem — “Mind Over Heart.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Jayden Parker: front cover photography not titled.
Trinity Smith: essay — “Rain, Rein, Reign.”
The work of all four students is also included in Scholar Voices 2023.
An additional 25 artists and writers, some of whom are now alumni, represent high schools in Arkansas, Indiana and New Jersey in this year’s issue. Genres include essay, photography, poetry, rap and short story.
The Pathways to College nonprofit after-school program invites its student scholars to submit original works each year.
“The artistic and written ideas of our scholars always startle and inspire, especially when we consider ages and grade levels. And this 2024 edition of Scholar Voices does not disappoint,” said Pathways to College Founder and President Judith Berry Griffin.
Submissions are reviewed by a jury including published authors and teachers of English and language arts. Print copies of Scholar Voices are being distributed to awardees, all scholars, program teachers and donors.
To recognize the gifts and talents of each student, their interests and their multifaceted ways of self-expression, Pathways to College has been honoring the creativity of scholars since the early 1990s, when Pathways was in development at A Better Chance, according to the organization.
Pathways to College is an after-school program providing information, guidance and support to help African American and other students of color become the best high school students, college applicants and college students they can be to prepare for lifelong success, according to the release.