SAN MARCOS, Texas – Isabella Hanson is a 16-year-old from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania who has proven that activism and expression have no age restriction. At her age, she runs and helps judge the ‘I Matter’ poetry contest while also living a teenage life and preparing herself for college in two years. 

During the first quarantine of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, 14-year-old Hanson took notice of the racial injustice and inequality of African Americans highlighted in the media. She said this inspired her to create a way for kids, like herself, to identify and share their feelings on why Black Lives Matter through poetry and artwork. 

“I was hearing a lot about the death of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. I was also doing poetry school at the time,” Hanson explained. “I was just thinking there must be a lot of kids who feel very strongly about this topic but don’t really know how to talk about it… That’s when I had the idea to create the contest, to give students a platform to speak about what matters in [terms of] social justice and have somewhere to present it in the world.”

Hanson was able to bring her idea to life with the help of her mother, who works with a non-profit organization called the National Youth Foundation. They began by accepting submissions via email. Since the contest has grown, submissions are now accepted through Google Forms. Hanson shared that last year the contest received 650 entries from 42 states and 30 countries.

Along with the growth in submissions, the contest was also able to secure more high-profile judges such as Robert Covington from the Los Angeles Clippers, Malcolm Jenkins of the New Orleans Saints and little league star Mo’ne Davis. Hanson explained that the three judges and herself work together to narrow the submissions down to 10 finalists. Submissions from these finalists are all compiled into a book. Nine of the 10 finalists are given $100, while the contest's overall winner is given $500.

Outside of her work with the contest, Hanson also travels around the country to give workshops that share the mission and background of the “I Matter” contest with students. Hanson shared that time management is a major skill for her, considering she must do all of this while still attending school and living as a teenager. 

“[Managing everything is] definitely a lot, because I’m in 11th grade right now and it is kind of the most important year,” Hanson said. “I’m getting better with my time management. I tend to utilize my study halls at school and just [allocate] time.. after school for me to complete [work]. Once I finish my assignments from school, then I’ll work on planning something  or working on something from the contest.” 

Though Hanson is incredibly busy for someone her age, she says that her experiences so far have helped guide her as far as where she sees herself in the near future. The junior says that her work with the contest has somewhat impacted her college path. She hopes to major in business. 

“Even though my contest is not really a business, organizing and running things is kind of something I like to do,” Hanson explained. “I also want to minor in poetry, just so I can advance what I know about poetry.”

Hanson acknowledged the fact that she’s setting an example for younger kids to follow and actively encourages youth not to let their age deter them from their goals. 

“I want to make it known to people, if you’re a kid and you think ‘I can’t do this, this is too much work,’ you definitely can,” Hanson said. “You just need to find someone in your community or your life that would be willing to help you do everything.. at a young age it’s hard to create something by yourself.”

Applications for Hanson’s contest are now open. For more information about the “I Matter” contest and how to enter, visit the contest’s website or the National Youth Foundation’s social media.

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