Emma Gousset, a Tupelo High School sophomore, was selected as the first-place winner in a statewide high school art and writing competition.

Gousset was awarded $200 for winning the Writing Category in the Mississippi World Trade Center Institute’s Seventh Annual Young Artists & Authors Global Showcase. Her original poem is entitled “Final Words of Wisdom.”

Tenth-grader Davis Arthur won honorable mention in the Writing Category.

The Mississippi World Trade Center Institute hosts the competition annually in an effort to educate Mississippi high school students on the value of learning about other cultures and to promote a deeper understanding of global affairs. The competition encourages creative thinking inside and outside of the classroom while supporting arts and writing education in the process. Mississippi students are encouraged to enhance their cultural awareness and creatively interpret an international concept through a variety of artistic mediums including painting, drawing, photography, computer graphics, poetry, and essay. The theme for 2014 was “A Journey Through Asia.”