Danville Community College (DCC) proudly celebrated student creativity and artistic excellence during its 2025–2026 Poet Laureate & Visual Art Luminary Competition, held Tuesday evening, February 24.
Part of a statewide initiative across all 23 of Virginia’s Community Colleges, this year’s theme, “I Dream,” invited students to explore aspiration, identity, possibility, and imagination through original poetry and visual art.
“At Danville Community College, we believe creativity is a powerful expression of both identity and possibility," said Dr. Cornelius Johnson, President of Danville Community College. "The ‘I Dream’ theme reflects the heart of what we do as a community college, helping students envision a future and giving them the tools to pursue it. I am incredibly proud of the courage and talent our students demonstrated through their poetry and visual art, and we look forward to cheering them on at the state competition.”
A total of 13 students submitted 16 entries, with three students competing in both categories. Ten entries were submitted in Visual Arts and six in Poetry.
Visual Arts Winners
- 1st Place: Rafael Garcia
- 2nd Place: Madison Cotton
- 3rd Place: Q’Lexis Stork
Poetry Winners
- 1st Place: Caydense Bryant
- 2nd Place: Denisha Saunders
- 3rd Place: Ariana Poole
First-place winners will advance to represent Danville Community College at the statewide competition, scheduled for March 27–28, 2026, at Virginia Western Community College in Roanoke. The free public awards event will take place March 28.
The competition welcomed students enrolled at least part-time in adult education, workforce credential, certificate, dual enrollment/early college, or degree programs during Summer 2025, Fall 2025, and/or Spring 2026. Poetry submissions required three original poems, including at least one tied to the theme “I Dream”, while visual artists submitted one original piece created within the past year in mediums such as drawing, painting, mixed media, photography, printmaking, sculpture, or ceramics. Works created using artificial intelligence were not eligible.
“The Visual Art Luminary and Poet Laureate competitions highlight the depth of talent that exists across all areas of our student body," said Dr. DeAndre Howard, Vice President of Academic Affairs & Student Services. "These submissions represent critical thinking, creativity, and authentic voice. Opportunities like this reinforce that academic excellence at DCC extends beyond the classroom and into meaningful artistic expression.”
This marks the second cycle of the statewide competition. During the 2023–2024 cycle, the state competition was hosted by Piedmont Virginia Community College, where Ana Leng of Central Virginia Community College was named the inaugural Poet Laureate for Virginia’s Community Colleges.
Judging support was provided by local members of the community.
For more information about Danville Community College and its program offerings, visit danville.edu.
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