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217 Today: Robert Gao, an Urbana teen, has received the nation’s highest honor for youth poets

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Robert Gao, a senior at University Laboratory High School in Urbana, says his love for poetry started during the COVID pandemic, when he discovered poetry. “It became a way to sort of put my soul onto the paper in a way that nonfiction writing couldn’t,” Gao said.
  • Photo: Anna Koh / Illinois Student Newsroom

Wednesday, October 16, 2024

Today’s headlines:

  • Urbana city officials are moving forward with a plan to make safety improvements to Lincoln Avenue.
  • Palestinian-Americans are reflecting, one year after Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza, in response to the Oct. 7 attack on Israel led by Hamas.
  • Some Illinois groups are against an initiative from state lawmakers to merge the CTA, Metra and Pace into one entity.

In today’s deep dive, we’ll listen to a conversation with a teenager from Urbana who has received the nation’s highest honor for youth poets.

217 Today is produced by Stephanie Mosqueda. Reporting today contributed by Anulika Ochuba, Kulsoom Khan, Mawa Iqbal and Anna Koh.

 

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Stephanie Mosqueda

Stephanie Mosqueda is a senior majoring in journalism at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with minors in Spanish and public relations. She is the 217 Today producer and a reporter for the Illinois Student Newsroom.