It was no coincidence.
Khullar, a junior at Iowa City West High School, is Iowa s first Student Poet Ambassador, a position inspired by Gorman s vital message delivered before Joe Biden was sworn-in as president Jan. 20. Gorman, 23, the youngest inaugural poet ever, became a viral sensation and best-selling author.
That got a University of Iowa administrator thinking that perhaps this state should be championing a young poet who could find words to help calm, or challenge, a divided nation.
Khullar, a 17-year-old who started finding her voice as a poet in high school, was the choice. And on Friday, the last day of National Poetry Month, she read two of her creations to a crowd assembled at the seat of power in Iowa. The poems are titled The Hindi Word for Prayer and Blue Brother. Both explore the subtleties of Khullar s own experiences.
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Iowa City student inaugurated as first Iowa student poet ambassador
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I want to introduce you to a very impressive young woman from the Corridor, who is going to make a difference in this world. After hearing what she s invented, and seeing her on The Ellen Degeneres Show on Monday, I have absolutely no doubt.
17-year-old Dasia Taylor of North Liberty, a student at Iowa City West High School, has invented low-cost stitches that change color when they detect infection. As she says during her appearance (below), a similar product already existed. There was just one problem. It used very expensive technology. Realizing the people who really needed something like this wouldn t be able to afford it, Dasia went to work to find a low-cost way to do virtually the same thing. That s exactly what she s done.