“Best of WordStruck Live” Award Show to be Held May 3rd at Pius X
Original music, poetry, art, videography and creative writing will be celebrated during the first ever “Best of WordStruck Live” award show to be held at Pius X High School on Saturday, May 3rd at 7:00 p.m. in the school Commons. The student-led, red carpet event will feature the “best of the best” among numerous student and faculty submissions received over the past school year that were recognized on Pius X’s literary website, WordsStuck.net.
Sponsored through a grant from the U.S. Bank Nebraska Foundation, WordStruck.net provides students at Pius X with an exciting and unique way to engage in literacy and the arts. The website is one of the only online cooperative ventures of its kind at the high school or collegiate level in the nation. Whether it is creating lyrics to music, writing poetry and essays, or through editing and videography, WordStruck.net provides students the opportunity to have their creative work published and widely viewed online.
Out of 210 submissions received this year, WordStruck.net has published 90 pieces of writing, visual art, photography, original musical recordings and creative videos. “Our web site will eclipse 11,000 hits by the time of the live event,” says Pius X English teacher and WordStruck advisor Jeremy Ekeler, who two years ago came up with the idea of bringing the school’s literary magazine WordStruck into the digital age through this online medium.
The May 3rd award show will highlight the top five finalists in four categories: Poetry, Narative/Short Story, Photography and Dynamic (which includes artwork, music, and multimedia). Winners in each category will be announced live at the event, which also will include student performances and presentations. Emcees of the event are Pius X seniors Kathryn Budell and Joey Murphy. Musical entertainment will be provided by The Wildwoods (featuring recording artists and Pius X sophomores Chloe Pinkman and Noah Gose and senior Noah Pinkman), and other artists.
In addition to the support from U.S. Bank Nebraska Foundation, the web site has received in-kind support from web designer and Pius X alumna Bridget (Ellingson) Bredenkamp ‘98 of Design by Bridge in Lincoln, Neb., who has assisted Ekeler in designing and hosting the website.
Tickets for this event are on sale now at Pius X. Admission is $5 per adult and $3 per student. For more information or to schedule interviews, please contact the following students: Abby Goodwin, Anna Ondracek or Kally Werning at (402) 488-0931. A sampling of students’ work can be viewed at: www.wordstruck.net.
As the central Catholic high school in Lincoln, Pius X’s mission is to enrich the mind, heart and soul of each student through a Christ-centered, Catholic environment that provides academic excellence and preparation to achieve a meaningful, faith-filled life. Now in its 58th year and serving more than 1,100 students in grades 9-12, Pius X is guided by Pope St. Pius X’s motto, “Restore all things in Christ”.
