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17-Year-Old Girl Becomes Boston's First Youth Poet Laureate

BOSTON (CBS) -- A 17-year-old Fenway High School student has become Boston's first Youth Poet Laureate. Alondra Bobadilla applied to the position after she was encouraged by her teachers and librarian.

"It's very humbling and I feel very honored because it's an opportunity that I never coming," Bobadilla told WBZ-TV. "I am being put in a position where I get to do something that I love for the next two years, every day. And share that with people and encourage other people to love it just as I do and to partake in it just as much as I do."

As Youth Poet Laureate, Bobadilla will be able to work alongside Boston Poet Laureate Porsha Olayiwola, publish a collection of her own poetry, and run teen poetry workshops at Boston Public Library.

The title is about "connecting to the voices of young people in the community and having them also be encouraged to read and write and express themselves in any way shape or form, including poetry," Bobadilla explained.

In a statement, Mayor Marty Walsh said, "Empowering Boston's youth and encouraging them to share their creativity and talent is so important for the future of our City, and I'm confident that she will do an excellent job of helping to make that happen."

Bobadilla said much of her writing stems from personal experiences, but she has begun to "push the envelope a little bit and write about topics that maybe people don't like to hear about, controversial topics sometimes, and I also like to write about other voices that maybe are not as heard in the community."

She is considering using her book to talk about mental health.

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