Humble ISD Senior Honored as a Published Student Author
Quest Early College High School senior Sejal Gupta will be honored as a published student author during a Virtual Book Signing Brunch with actor Matthew McConaughey in recognition for work she entered in a national competition.
“I Write Short Stories by Kids for Kids” is a competition hosted by the Houston-based iWRITE Literacy Organization, which selects 100 entries from a variety of categories to be published each year.
Gupta’s entry was recognized as the editor’s choice for poetry.
“Nothing quite interests me like the rawness of poetry,” Gupta said.
She entered the contest based on an advertisement she saw and how writing about an outer space theme intrigued her imagination.
Gupta’s love for writing goes back to her days as a student at Park Lakes Elementary where she was required to participate in daily writing prompts. Gupta challenged herself to write a poem for each prompt that came along.
Her love of writing and poetry only grew as she moved on to Woodcreek Middle School and Quest Early College.
Gupta took great interest in exploring the theme she used for her work.
“The theme was outer space, so I submitted a poem that essentially compares people to celestial bodies,” she said. “Equating space to humans was a new, beautiful perspective on life I wanted to explore.”
Gupta, a 12th grader at Quest Early College, is exploring a college major in political science with aspirations of becoming a political advocate or an attorney to make a difference in her community.
Participating in an internship at a law firm is giving Gupta the advantage she needs as she looks to embark on a career.
“I get to learn a lot from experienced professionals while handling really important responsibilities,” she said.
Quest Early College High School Principal Nachelle Scott is thrilled with Gupta’s accomplishment.
“Her work defines what being a Quest Early College High School student is about,” Ms. Scott said. “Our focus is creating a learning environment through spaces and opportunities that fosters excellence in each student.”
Gupta and other competition winners will participate in the iWRITE Literacy Organization’s 11th annual Virtual Book Signing Brunch on Nov. 14, 2020, which will celebrate the diversity of published students.
Over the years, iWRITE has published 730 student authors and illustrators from 11 different countries resulting in more than 11,000 compilations that have gone to print.
