Edison student named regional Power of the Pen champion

BERLIN HEIGHTS — Nadia Cantelli is one of the best middle school writers in the area and has the title to prove it. In May, Nadia was named the eighth grade Power of the Pen regional champion for Edison Middle School during a regional tournament. She qualified by finishing ninth overall out of 90 writers at districts. Power of the Pen, a creative writing competition, gives middle school students prompts and limited time to write a fictional story. A year ago, Edison seventh-grader Sara Gates was crowned the state champion. The coronavirus forced the regional competition to become virtual, but students adjusted to writing on a computer quickly. Normally, in each competition, students must write their stories in black ink. "I met virtually with the team after the tournament, and students had no problem with the format," advisor Colleen Hanson said. "Most said they prefer to actually write their stories rather than typing." The online competition had two online rounds with two prompts given and 40 minutes to write a story based on each prompt. Scores from those rounds were averaged to get a third score. Nadia's scores came out to 288/300 points, putting her in the first place. "Instant results were not possible, so we waited about a week and a half for them," Hanson said. For the first writing prompt, "What would make you second guess something?" Nadia wrote about a bride reconsidering her relationship with her future husband after receiving a message from an ex-boyfriend. Nadia's story based on the second prompt, "Whose idea was it anyway?" challenged drunk driving. Nadia and her teammates had online practices 2-3 times a week that Hanson would post prompts for, and would give feedback on. In seventh grade, Nadia joined Edison Middle School's Power of the Pen team after Hanson asked if she was interested. "Since I'm a songwriter and musician, I thought it was amazing to write stories and share them with other people, and I decided to keep doing it (through Power of the Pen)," she said. Nadia credits her teammates, family and friends for looking over her work and giving feedback. Multiple family members donated money so she could compete in tournaments this year. "Without them, I wouldn't be where I am, without a doubt," she said. Hanson isn't surprised by Nadia's win. "This year she was writing the best she ever had written," she said. "I knew that any member of the team was capable of winning, and, of course, that included Nadia. Watching the results live was so exciting — I could see that the first place student was from Edison when the card started to turn, but I didn't see (Nadia's) name right away." Even as changes happened due to COVID-19, Hanson is proud of her seventh and eighth-grade teams. "I went into both tournaments knowing that each writer would do their best and walk away proud of their work," she said. "I have never been let down by anyone, and students know that. Competition is always tough." Participating in Power of the Pen allows students to grow as people. "Students become confident and learn to accept constructive criticism to become better writers," Hanson said. "We have students who are outgoing and students who are very shy. When writing, none of that matters. As the Edison Middle School team, we have a bond that is unbreakable. I cannot say enough about my writers. I am hopeful that by the time competitions begin in January, we will be back to normal and will be able to proceed as usual." Reach reporter Caitlin Nearhood at nearhood@sanduskyregister.com and follow her on Twitter @CaitlinNearhood