4 Lexington County students win recognition in annual state high school writing contest

Two students from River Bluff High School, one from Gray Collegiate Academy and one from Airport High School earned recognition in the 2025-26 South Carolina High School Writing Contest. 

"Presented by the South Carolina Honors College, the contest asks the same question each year: 'How can we make South Carolina better?'" according to the South Carolina Honors College website. "Students can respond in poetry, prose, drama and fiction, keeping their submissions within 750 words. This year’s grand judge was Claire Jiménez, a professor at the University of South Carolina whose novel, 'What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez,' won the 2024 PEN/Faulkner Award."

Pranavi Mancham, a senior at River Bluff High School, won honorable mention for her writing, “A Price Too High," which is about book banning. Jon Lavoisier is her Advanced Placement language and composition teacher.

The following locals were finalists in the competition: 

• Aine Kim of River Bluff High School
• Victoria Stone of Gray Collegiate Academy
• Angelica Tenorio-Gonzalez of Airport High School

Three high school juniors from other areas of the state placed first, second and third, and there were 22 finalists in total.

“It was so inspiring to read these essays,” Jiménez said. “Each of these writers wrote bravely and filled me with hope for our future."

More about the contest, according to the South Carolina Honors College: 

"Now in its 13th year, the South High School Carolina Writing Contest was founded by Steven Lynn, dean of the South Carolina Honors College. The contest includes a publishing opportunity for its winners and finalists. This year, the submissions of the four winners and 22 finalists will be published on the South Carolina Honors College website. The series of volumes are titled 'Writing South Carolina: Selections of the High School Writing Contest.' More than 300 high schoolers, in 11th and 12th grades, submitted to this year’s contest.

'This generation, like all generations, has its own concerns,' said Aïda Rogers, contest coordinator. 'Students in today’s South Carolina are affected by racism, education inequality and school violence. They can educate older generations about their struggles with mental health, their worries about the environment and their desire to help solve these problems. They are our future leaders, and we hope people will read their published work.'

The contest’s presenting partners include the Pat Conroy Literary Center, the South Carolina Academy of Authors, the South Carolina Writers Association and the South Carolina State Library. Previous judges have been acclaimed South Carolina writers, including novelists Pat Conroy, Ron Rash, Pam Durban, Mary Alice Monroe, Carla Damron and Elise Blackwell; poets Nikky Finney, Felicia Mitchell, Marjory Wentworth, Sam Amadon and Ray McManus; historian Walter Edgar; and Jonathan Haupt, former director of the Pat Conroy Literary Center."