Poetry has the power to illuminate experiences, challenge perspectives, and bring communities together through the written word. The National English Honor Society’s Poets Laureate Award recognizes students who not only demonstrate exceptional talent as writers but also embrace the role of literary leaders within their schools and communities.
Throughout their year-long term, our student poets explored themes that matter deeply to our world, including heritage, education, literature, justice, and the environment. They shared their voices through original poetry, engaged audiences through public readings, and inspired others to discover the power of creative expression.
As part of the laureateship, students received mentorship from award-winning poets, Billie Tadros and Elias Kerr, and had the chance to present their work at the English Honor Societies Annual Convention. We are proud to celebrate this year’s NEHS Poets Laureate and the creativity, insight, and leadership they bring to the literary community.
Applications for the 2026-2027 NEHS Poets Laureate Award are open from September 28 to October 13, 2026.
Isaac Cavaciuti, Collier High School, NJ
Isaac Cavaciuti grew up in central New Jersey to a low-income family. As a toddler, his family introduced him to books and poems written by Dr. Seuss and Shel Silverstein, which cemented his love of poetry. He began to write poems at age six. In middle school, after being diagnosed with autism, coming out as transgender, and becoming physically disabled, Isaac experienced ruthless bullying and stopped writing altogether. He switched to a therapeutic school with a major focus on the arts and humanities in his freshman year. After being recommended for NEHS by his Creative Writing teacher, Isaac once again began to blossom into his literary and poetic identity. Isaac has been writing poetry and short stories nearly non-stop since then and hopes to use his love of writing to help others.
Patrick Keedy Brown, Ransom Everglades School, FL
Patrick Keedy Brown is a senior at Ransom Everglades School in Miami, FL. A writer and advocate for creative expression, he is President of the Poetry & Writing Club and Design Editor of the literary magazine Inklings. Patrick is a 2025 YoungArts Winner in Writing, a two-time National Silver Medalist in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, and recipient of the Brown University Book Award for excellence in English and written expression. A US Department of State NSLI-Y Scholar, he studied Mandarin in Taiwan and explores voice, myth, and cultural identity through his poetry and prose. He has performed his work at school and community literary events, where he explores how storytelling bridges personal and collective experience. His writing reimagines classical voices within modern settings, seeking to illuminate human resilience and empathy through language.
National English Honor Society
The National English Honor Society (NEHS), founded and sponsored by Sigma Tau Delta, is the only international organization exclusively for secondary students and faculty who, in the field of English, merit special note for past and current accomplishments. Individual secondary schools are invited to petition for a local chapter, through which individuals may be inducted into Society membership. Immediate benefits of affiliation include academic recognition, scholarship and award eligibility, and opportunities for networking with others who share enthusiasm for, and accomplishment in, the language arts.
America’s first honor society was founded in 1776, but high school students didn’t have access to such organizations for another 150 years. Since then, high school honor societies have been developed in leadership, drama, journalism, French, Spanish, mathematics, the sciences, and in various other fields, but not in English. In 2005, National English Honor Society launched and has been growing steadily since, becoming one of the largest academic societies for secondary schools.
As Joyce Carol Oates writes, “This is the time for which we have been waiting.” Or perhaps it was Shakespeare: “Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer . . .” we celebrate English studies through NEHS.
National English Honor Society accepts submissions to our blog, NEHS Museletter, from all membership categories (students, Advisors, and alumni). If you are interested in submitting a blog, please read the Suggested Guidelines on our website. Email any questions and all submissions to: submit@nehsmuseletter.us.
