Eighth grader Naomi Borau received an Honorable Mention award in September in the National Public Radio Contest for her podcast “From Pierogies to Pride: Keeping Polish Traditions Alive.”
Michelle Gannon, Borau’s seventh grade writing teacher, said that with nearly 2,000 submissions collected nationwide from students from grades four through twelve, the Honorable Mention award is a significant accomplishment.
“The fact that she was recognized as one of the top submissions really speaks to how her story must have resonated with others,” Gannon said.
Borau’s podcast explores her Polish heritage through a Christmas dinner tradition with her grandmother. Borau said that through making pierogies and other cultural delicacies with her grandmother, she has gained a deeper connection with herself and her heritage.
“Until a few years ago, I never knew why we [made pierogies],” Borau said. “But then my grandma introduced me to my Polish culture, and I started learning about the people there, and I decided to write about that. It was really interesting to learn about.”
Borau said that the award was unexpected and exciting for her and her family. It was especially meaningful for her grandma.
“She was asking me questions about [my podcast], and she practically listened to it five times straight,” Borau said.
Gannon, who assigns a podcast every year said why she believes the podcast assignment is a particularly beneficial one for the seventh-grade writing class.
“The podcast is a great way for students to look at their identities through a different kind of lens,” Gannon said. “In the seventh grade, I tried to expose students to all different types of writing, and podcasts are a beautiful way to explore storytelling.”
Gannon also said that the podcast assignment allowed students to learn about themselves, their cultures, and impactful parts of their own backgrounds.
“We listen to a lot of podcasts about how others tell impactful stories, [so that students] realize that they, too, have great stories to tell,” Gannon said.
