Finding the words to describe your deepest feelings and the confidence to share them is a challenge for most people — especially a teenager in love.

But, high school sophomore Jewel Cruz-Nix does just that in her poem "Waiting Room for the Wrong Doctor."

What You Need To Know

  •  NAACP's ACT-SO program helps high school students pursue creative talents

  •  Participants are connected to mentors with experience in the skill they want to improve

  • Each year, participants from across the country get together for a competition

“You’re waiting for somebody almost yearning for them, and then somewhere along the way, you realize that it’s just not going to work, and it’s just not right for you and you got to let that go,” said Cruz-Nix.

To sharpen her poetry skills, she joined the Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics, or ACT-SO. A program for high school students through the NAACP.

Her work earned her a spot at the national competition in Las Vegas.

“This gives them an opportunity to see the world outside of where they live and to see that there’s a whole big world out there in this area,” said Gwen Pope, vice president of the NAACP, Albany chapter.

It also allows students like Cruz-Nix to connect with mentors who have experience in the skills they want to master.

Cruz-Nix’s mentor, Leah Threatte, was an ACT-SO participant as a teenager, too.

She was awarded the gold medal in the 1997 competition.

“The whole thing really has made me a lifelong writer,” said Threatte. “I continue to write a lot. I do a lot of journaling, poetry, things like that. So, though I write legal stuff all day from my day job, I do still enjoy creative writing.”

It was important to Threatte to help a young person find their voice and empower her to use it, just as her mentor did for her.

“Really, all I wanted to do for Jewel was just to let her know that her poetry wasn’t something to just hide in a journal and not show anybody that we take this seriously,” said Threatte. “We take your thoughts seriously. Your voice seriously.”

It’s creativity sparked by connection that feels like a full circle moment for Threatte.

For Cruz-Nix, sharing her feelings isn’t so scary anymore.

“It helps me to relate to others, and I guess it’s good to know that you’re not the only person feeling that way,” said Cruz-Nix.

She plans to continue writing and hopes to publish a poetry book one day.

Spectrum News 1 is a proud sponsor of the NAACP’s ACT-SO Achievement Program.