Picture it now, a dark stage with one spotlight on you, everyone looking at you. Nerves racking, you do it anyways, you read that poem. You not only read that poem but you read that poem in front of your peers. But when you’re done, it’s all okay, because you can hear Mrs. Engelkes cheering you on in the crowd.

This is exactly what senior Nicole Kelly and junior Olivia Galyon were experiencing on Friday, February 24th, 2017. Also known as Ames High’s first Spoken Word night.

“I was kind of afraid of being judged,” said Olivia, “but the light was so bright it blinded you and you couldn’t even tell you had an audience so that made it easier, along with hearing the snaps after you’re done performing. You get less nervous as you go on.”

“It was kind of scary sharing private stuff with people you don’t really know well,” said Nicole, “But Mrs. Engelkes was there too root us on and record our performance.”

Anyone who knows Mrs. Engelkes knows just how supportive and caring she is, so it’s not a surprise to the students of Ames High who were performing that she was there cheering her students on.

Not only was Mrs. Engelkes an attendee to this first time event, but so were students from Perry and other surrounding school districts. “It was cool to watch other students from different schools perform, but it was even cooler to watch our classmates perform and show off their talents.” agreed Olivia and Nicole.

Will Spoken Word become a regular occurrence in the halls of Ames High? That we don’t know, what we do know is the turnout was more than expected, and Ames High is always there to support its fellow students.