Like a champ: Wash High senior raps way into top 13 of NYT vocabulary contest
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
J.J. Shabazz said this year, under teacher Treg Campbell’s guidance, English has become more than just a class he shows up to each day. Shabazz enjoyed reading “Tuesdays With Morrie” and was recognized by the New York Times last week for his creative definition of the word “simile.”
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
A week after placing second in the Washington Health System’s annual Black History Month essay contest, J.J. Shabazz was named one of 13 winners of the New York Times’ annual 15-second Vocabulary Contest. Shabazz wrote, performed and edited a music video defining the word ‘’simile.”
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
J.J. Shabazz and his English teacher, Treg Campbell, were excited to learn Shabazz was one of 13 winners of the New York Times’ 15-second Vocabulary Contest. About 1,500 people submitted to the contest, open to students globally.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
J.J. Shabazz, a senior at Washington High School, said his English teacher, Treg Campbell, makes English more than just a class to show up to.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Treg Campbell, right, an English teacher at Washington High School, said he’s proud of his students, and especially proud of J.J. Shabazz’s recognition by the New York Times. Shabazz, left, was one of 13 winners out of 1,500 submissions to the newspaper’s annual vocabulary contest.
J.J. Shabazz is like a wordsmith.
Last week, the Washington High School senior was recognized by the New York Times for his innovative definition of the word “simile.”
“I clicked on the website and they said of nearly 1,500 submissions, there were 13 winners, 17 runners-up and 26 honorable mentions. So I’m scrolling, and I’m looking and I’m looking,” said Treg Campbell, an English teacher at Wash High. “And then his name was right there – Washington High School in Washington, Pa. I was floored.”
Shabazz’s recognition by the Times came just one week after he took home second-place in the Washington Health System’s Black History Month essay contest.
“It was like a continuation,” said Campbell. “It’s a wonderful feeling when you see people reaping rewards that are well-deserved.”
The past two school years have been trying, and this year has been especially tough, Campbell said. Students and teachers alike have struggled to readapt to classroom routines.
So Campbell began incorporating the New York Times' monthly challenges into the English curriculum.
“I thought this was a great opportunity to incorporate writing,” he said. Each month, students are afforded the opportunity to think outside the box and submit artwork or essays to the Times.
As part of the monthly challenges, Campbell for the first time this year invited students to participate in the New York Times' ninth-annual 15-second Vocabulary Video Challenge. Students from around the globe could select a word from the newspaper’s 17-page word of the day list and create a short video defining that word, including its correct pronunciation and part of speech.
“As soon as (Mr. Campbell) was talking about it that first day of class, my brain was just flowing with ideas, and it was just such a challenge where I can just let my creativity flow,” said Shabazz.
“I knew as soon as he told me about it and he told me I can make a video, I was like, ‘Well, I want to do a song,'” said the senior, who grew up around music. “So I was just looking for words, anything that I can put in a song, make a song about. And I saw ‘simile.’ In most songs today, they use simile, comparing things using like or as. That’s one of the easiest words you can choose for a rap song. I just picked ‘simile’ and it just worked.”
Shabazz got to work, writing a full two-minute, 30-second song on the word “simile,” from which he chose a short clip to submit to the contest. The Prexie senior spent a day recording the song – he even wrote the beat on a phone app – and then filmed and edited the video.
Then Shabazz turned in the assignment to Campbell, who submitted the entry to the Times.
During an in-service day March 4, Campbell received an email stating Shabazz was a finalist, but the Times needed additional information regarding his submission. Campbell provided that information and waited to hear back.
The next email he received was a list of winners, runners-up and honorable mentions.
Shabazz had placed in the top 13.
“This is a worldwide contest. It’s an amazing achievement. To see his creativity and his talent being recognized and seen on a global scale, I could not be more proud of him because I know the work he puts into it,” Campbell said, adding Shabazz is a model student.
Shabazz said his English teacher was more excited than he, and his mother is over the moon at his success. Former teachers, including Shabazz’s kindergarten teacher, have reached out to congratulate him. The wordsmith, along with classmates who won Black History Month and Juneteenth essay contests, will be recognized at next week’s school board meeting.
Though he joked that he feels locally famous, Shabazz is humble about his recognition.
“I don’t want to let it get to my head. I just don’t like to brag about things,” he said. “Seeing how everyone’s responding to it … I’m really happy.”
Campbell, too, is happy for Shabazz’s much-deserved success.
“English is the one subject … where interpretation is yours. You can claim it. It allows you a voice,” said Campbell. “This was something that was his own concept, his own design, his own execution. I’m hoping that this is a launching pad to much greater success for him. It’s always important for students to be able to see that they can do something.
“The main takeaway,” Campbell added, is “you can do anything that you put your mind to, but you have to work for it. He worked for it, and he’s seeing that reward.”