The Links Incorporated consists of more than 17,000 professional women of African descent in 299 chapters located throughout the United States, the Bahamas and the United Kingdom. The Albany District Chapter is within the Eastern Area of The Links, Incorporated that sponsors the Young Masters 2.0 Program Competition. The Eastern Area Links includes chapters from Maine to Maryland. The goal of this program is to encourage creative, artistic excellence through music, dance, drama, prose and poetry among high school students and to provide an outlet that gives voice to their experiences and impressions – their views on the world.

 To enter the competition, students may submit original and previously unpublished works reflective of the required theme. This year’s theme was “Creating Tomorrow’s World Using Artistic Energy Today”. The Arts Facet members of the Albany District Links were delighted to work with interested students from the Albany Leadership Charter High School for Girls. Two students’ poetry written by Koda Hall and Genesis Berrios-Gonzalez, were selected to enter the competition. Monetary awards will be given to the winning entries at the Eastern Area Conference in late April. The Albany Chapter hosted a reception for our selected students. They each received a Certificate of Appreciation for their entries, a fifty dollar Visa gift card and poetist Amanda Gorman’s published hard copy of “The Hill We Climb”.

 Whatever the outcome of the Eastern Area competition, Koda and Genesis are already winners in our eyes.

– Linda Jackson-Chalmers — Art Facet Chair