Anne Mengue is a new-to-country Apollo High School freshman who has impressed her EL (English Language) teacher and administration with her poetry skills. She’s one of the recent winners of Apollo’s Black History Month Writing Competition.
Mengue moved to St. Cloud from Cameroon, Africa in August. She was very excited to start school. In Cameroon, Mengue spoke French and studied a little English, so the thought of learning to speak English well was thrilling for her.
“When I came here, everyone was good to me,” says Mengue. “My teacher is very nice.”
Mengue’s EL teacher, Nguyen Pham, took notice of Mengue’s quiet behavior, and the pair quickly formed a bond.
“When she first came, she was very shy,” shares Pham. “She tried to speak, but it took her a little time to process how to make a sentence and use the words.”
It wasn’t long before Mengue shared her love of poetry with Pham. During the first trimester of school, Pham’s class studied poems, their structure and style, rhythms and grammar. Pham sensed a strong connection between Mengue’s interest and the lessons. It was the perfect environment for Mengue to break out of her reserve.
“When I write,” says Mengue, “it comes from my heart. So, what I have inside, I write.”
She believes writing poetry makes it easy for her to express herself. When inspiration strikes, she immediately writes.
Pham then noticed a change within Mengue. She became less shy and began to speak much more.
“She participates every day from the first minute to the last minute,” says Pham. “She’s very motivated and attentive. Her eyes are always bright like a light bulb. They just turn on when she listens to my lesson or when I ask her a question.”
When the opportunity arose for students to submit in writing what Black History Month meant to them, Mengue knew she could express her feelings through poetry, and she researched black historical figures to incorporate into her work.
“She was very interested in the topic, and I could see that she used what we learned in our poetry lesson and applied that into her writing,” explains Pham. “It was an honor when they announced the winners.”
In addition to her English language class, Pham teaches an academic writing class as well, and her plan was to hold a family event night where the academic writing students could share their work. She asked Mengue to read her poem to the group and Mengue happily agreed.
“The prize makes me more proud,” shares Mengue. “It encourages me to continue writing and that’s why next year I want to enter the class [academic writing] with Ms. Pham. I want to read more books and improve my vocabulary.”
One of the reasons Mengue wants to take the academic writing class is because her long term goal is to become a pediatrician and a children’s book author as her second career. She believes the best way to achieve both is to keep reading and writing as much as she can.
Mengue’s parents are very proud of her accomplishment. Her mother was a French teacher in Cameroon and is learning to speak English herself. She understands the difficulties in learning a new language.
Mengue also wants to be a role model for other students learning English.
“I encourage them to not give up and try their best,” says Mengue. “If they are good at speaking, keep speaking. If they are good at writing, write more.”
Mengue plans to continue writing poetry from her heart in the hope to inspire herself as well as her teachers and other students.
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