When you have a teacher as talented, enthused, dedicated and proud as Jessica Merrigan, you can begin to understand how talented, educated, dedicated and passionate students at Henry Hudson Regional can achieve so much and reach goals they never realized they could reach.
That is the case this year as freshman student Evelynn Knox of Atlantic Highlands competed and represented the school and the region in the state competition of the nation-wide Poetry out Loud contest.
The English teacher, Jessica Merrigan is proud of Evelynn’s accomplishments and knows what it means to a teenager to advance to the state level. After all, this isn’t the first time it has happened under her tutelage at Henry Hudson. In 2012 and 2013, student Lydia Smith also won the regional competition and moved on to the state level. In 2013, she became State Champion and then represented Henry Hudson and the Garden State at the 2014 national competition in Washington DC.
Knox competed at the State Level as the regional winner when the competition was held at the Count Basie theater in Red Bank earlier this month. Although not placing first in the competition, the freshman drew praise and congratulations for Henry Hudson students and faculty alike for competing against students through 12th year of high school.
Merrigan, who is also the SEL facilitator, Yoga teacher, advisor to the Student Council and Journalism Club as well as the Poetry Out Loud advisor, has been at Henry Hudson since first being interviewed in 2013.
Among the talents she brought with her when becoming the Poetry Out Loud representative for Henry Hudson was the idea for developing the program and integrating it through the English Department. Admittedly she said it was trial and error in the beginning, and the program took a difficult hit during the Covid years.
But still, the teacher said, “Poetry Out Loud is a magical representation of how writing and speaking words mirror the human experience.” There is so much to the entire program, she eagerly points out, explaining that teaching students to select and analyze poetry helps them “not only to understand themes and poetic techniques, but it also allows young minds to explore the unknown, find themselves, and feel heard.”
The program works by teaching students how to speak publicly through the art of recitation. It begins in the English classroom, where students select and analyze a poem of their choice from the Poetry Out Loud Anthology, then advances to a school-wide school competition, when students compete with their peers for the title of first place.
Every aspect of the program is exciting for both her students and herself, Merrigan explained. But achieving success beyond the regional level has already resulted in a deeper appreciation she has for the program itself and all it has to offer.
“It is incredibly life changing,” she explains with enthusiasm, especially when competing beyond the school, “for both our student poet and myself. We celebrate a shared love for the arts with teachers, students, and families from around the country. Poetry Out Loud is a program that I adore.”
For the teacher, working with students like Evelynn as they make their final preparation for the next rated competition, is a particularly exciting and happy time.
So what is it about the Poetry Out Loud program that keeps a very busy teacher so enthusiastic and eager to work individually with each of her students? “The magic of the program stems from all the storytelling and interpretations that take place,” she said.
Then, my way of example she explained that after rehearsing several weeks with Evelynn this year, “we came to a newfound interpretation of one of her poems for the State Competition. The evolution of thoughts and the connections that we all make with poems is really quite blissful.”
Coaching is personal to each student, Merrigan continued, “as I genuinely value my students and their opinions. I also LOVE watching and interpreting the recitations, looking for all the things we all hope for, the purpose of life!”
Nor are they the only benefits of teaching this program. The educator noted that, in spite of the competition it requires, the program also “unites students. These students want to understand the meaning of their selected poems, they want to know what the poet was thinking, and they want to bring the poem to life for others to acknowledge, interpret, and fall in love with. It’s never the same experience.”
Looking back in response to a question on whether her own enthusiasm for the Poetry out Loud program is because she was shy or reluctant to speak publicly as teenager herself, Ms. Merrigan explained “ I would say everyone at some point has a fear of speaking in public.
Stepping more into that role did begin back in high school for herself. She attended Jackson Memorial High School, at a time when it was a student body of more than 3,000 teens. “In my experience, it was the theater that helped me to find myself and my voice.”
Which is also why the theater is another very sacred space to this teacher. “ From various theatrical performances and leading the Drama Club, I started stepping into a voice of my own. That voice grew with leadership roles I have had over the years through college experience and part-time jobs.”
There are even more positive results of all of that experience, she continued, because as a teacher, “ I learned very quickly that my voice had to be bold, confident and established; therefore, I tried to limit any hesitations I felt and just roll with it.”
Before coming on staff at Henry Hudson, Merrigan was employed in Somerset at Central Jersey College Prep, and believes that is where the love of sharing poetry with her students began.
“I realized how much students needed an outlet for themselves, she said, “ and poetry naturally spoke to them, both reading the works of others and writing the poems themselves.” She also believes that it was her work with poetry which inspired the invitation for her to be full-time at Hudson. “So the journey through this facet, like the POL Program, is constantly evolving. English was always her favorite subject in high school especially in the upper grades because that is where she found the significance of immersing herself in literature. “Furthermore, “ she concluded, “ my love for the theater was also present in every ELA class I took and continues to be present in the ELA classes I currently teach.”
Her teaching obligations are massive at Henry Hudson. This year she is teaching English III, AP Language & Composition, AP Literature & Composition, Public Speaking and Creative Writing.”
She accomplishes it all with an educational and experienced background that includes both an undergraduate degree in English and a master’s from Quinnipiac University); an MDEd in Social Emotional Learning, Mindfulness and Yoga she learned at Woolf University, and she is currently working on a second master’s when she anticipates receiving in June. She is also certified as a Teacher of Students with Disabilities from Rutgers and holds Certifications in AP Lit, AP Lang, ESL, Yoga, and Social Emotional Learning.
But for now, Educator Jessica Merrigan is continuing to enjoy every aspect of teaching her students at Henry Hudson Regional,, especially her very successful Poetry Out Loud Program and each of her students who works so hard and achieves so much.
