We are thrilled to announce that 12-year-old Carolina Guerrero, a 7th grader from Southwest Middle School, is Deep Laureate for winter 2015. The honor recognizes Carolina as one of Savannah’s deepest young authors, whose creative writing is among the most skilled, original and fearless in the county.

Carolina is a remarkable writer, both in skill and courage. She represents exactly what we foster at Deep Center: the ability and willingness to write about challenging and intensely personal stories, and to do so in truly compelling ways.

Carolina was one of more than 150 students who participated in Deep Center’s fall semester 2014 Young Author Project, and she was voted to receive the honor by a combination of her program peers and by the general public through a social media campaign.

“Being named Deep Laureate makes me feel like people hear me and understand my feelings,” says Carolina of the honor. “And being in Deep makes me feel like I can be more than just a quiet girl in a room. It’s giving me confidence and showing me how to speak up and be heard!”

Read Carolina’s award-winning essay, “Maria.”