Zaya in the Quill

Note: At the competition held Saturday, December 7, McFarland finished third in his category against the other top students in the state.

"I wish my whole team were going to be there with me, but it feels really good to represent my school," said Isaiah McFarland, Atkins HS Senior. This Saturday, December 7, McFarland will vie for a state championship at the finals of the NCASA Quill.

McFarland won his Problem Solution category in the Regional level of the NCASA Quill writing competition back in November. He advanced as an individual, but the team did not advance as a whole, for the first time in school history.

The state finals of the competition pits the top writers from schools all around NC. The Quill is an on-demand writing competition with four categories: Problem Solution, Argument, Literary Analysis, and Creative Writing.

"The competition gets more and more competitive every year," said teacher Scott Plaster, who coaches the team. "This year, Atkins was in a very tough region, with an two early colleges, a middle college, and a charter school," and only the top three schools from each region advance to the state finals.