Willimantic, CT – The Northeast Connecticut Education Foundation (NCEF) is proud to support student awards for the 19th Annual Julius Sokenu Poetry Contest, a lively annual event honoring the best student poetry in English and Spanish at CT State Community College Quinebaug Valley. For 2026, the awards celebration will be held on Thursday April 30 from 6 – 9 p.m. in the Townsend Family Room at the college’s Willimantic Center at 729 Main Street Willimantic, CT. In total, the NCEF will provide $1,000 for student awards this year.
This poetry prize was created as a tribute to respected professor Dr. Sokenu from his faculty and staff colleagues when he left Quinebaug Valley Community College for another position. The awards are given annually to students who compete in multiple categories, including English, Spanish for heritage speakers, and Spanish for non-heritage speakers. It is a moving ceremony for all who are fortunate to partake. Jon Andersen, CT State Quinebaug Valley English Department Chair shared the impact these awards have on students, “Community college is like poetry itself, I think: a place where you can discover what you have to say, a place to say it, and a place to be heard. On the Sokenu Awards night we celebrate our many differences and all we share. The Foundation makes this possible, year after year.”
The contest is open exclusively to CT State students whose home campus is Quinebaug Valley. Submissions will be accepted through April 9th with student award winners invited to share their work in a reading with an acclaimed guest poet. For 2026, the event will feature 2025 National Youth Poet Laureate Stephanie Pacheco. Questions about the awards can be directed to Jon Andersen at [email protected] or Elkin Espitia-Loaiza, professor of Spanish and ESOL, at [email protected].
