In a poem that stood out from approximately 100 entries of art and poetry, Woodbridge High School freshman Michael Cruz won the Black History Month Art and Poetry Contest, sponsored by the International Culture Club.

A student in Ms. Gulics’ 9th grade history class, Cruz won two tickets to see the movie Black Panther in theaters, as well as an article featuring his poem in The Woodbridge Corner.

“I took the subject of Black History Month and built off the idea of that,” Cruz said, mentioning that a few of his inspirations include renowned poet/playwright William Shakespeare and singer/rapper Nas.

Although the contest was a mandatory assignment given to the students by Ms. Gulics, Cruz was proud of his submission, and the recognition his poem has garnered. “I honestly didn’t think anything of it when I wrote the poem, but it feels good to win.”

English teacher Ms. Kreisel helped judge the submitted poems. “I was impressed by the way Michael wove into his poem important allusions to the civil rights movement,” Ms. Kreisel said.

The winning poem will not only receive recognition within WHS, but throughout Woodbridge Township as well, since the poem will be published in the township’s newspaper The Woodbridge Corner.

Cruz also won two tickets to see the best-selling Marvel movie Black Panther, which includes a cast of all-black superheroes.

Cruz plans to continue writing in his future. “My goal in writing is to reach out to the youth and shed light on important topics because of how dark everything is today,” Cruz said.