North Middlesex Regional High School Students Excel in Fitchburg State University High School Writing Contest

North Middlesex winners of the Fitchburg State University English Studies High School Writing Contest. From left are Kenneth Vettrus, Kyle Graham, Madison Mitchell, Cameron Troiano, Colin Taylor, Dathan Du, Noah Mance, Asher Denk-Cole, Brooke Logan, and Abigail Ouellette. (Photo courtesy North Middlesex Regional School District).

TOWNSEND — North Middlesex Regional High School students excelled in a recent writing contest held by Fitchburg State University, with students earning 10 awards for essays and poetry.

Fitchburg State University (FSU) recently hosted its annual writing contest for local high school students. The 2026 prompt highlighted FSU’s “Year of Momentum” theme. Student writers were encouraged to consider the idea of momentum — progress, change, expansion, improvement, and growth — and how momentum can be exciting, invigorating, or challenging.

Over 150 juniors at North Middlesex wrote creative essays and poetry regarding momentum during their English classes, and many volunteered to enter their work into the FSU contest.

Each submitted work was evaluated by a committee of English Studies faculty from FSU, who reported that they admired the quality and promise of the writing from students at NMRSD.

A total of 33 student writers from five local high schools were honored, with 10 of the awards going to NMRSD students. The contest was open to any Massachusetts high school student between grade 9 and 12.

NMRSD award winners were:

Essay Contest

First Place: Colin Taylor
Second Place: Cameron Troiano
Third Place: Abigail Ouellette
Honorable Mention: Kyle Graham
Honorable Mention: Madison Mitchell

Poetry Contest

First Place: Brooke Logan
Second Place: Dathan Du
Third Place: Asher Denk-Cole
Honorable Mention: Noah Mance
Honorable Mention: Kenneth Vettrus

Prizes for award winners included publication in the FSU literary magazine Route 2 and gift certificates to the FSU Campus Bookstore. All participants in the contest will have their application fees and enrollment deposits waived by FSU if they apply to the school.

“This contest challenged our students to be thoughtful and creative, and our students answered the challenge with 10 award-winning pieces,” said Superintendent Brad Morgan. “I want to thank our 11th Grade English faculty for involving so many of our students in this challenge, and I want to thank Fitchburg State for providing this excellent educational opportunity.”