Meet the Riverside County Teen Poet Laureate Hayley Foo, Who Uses the Power of &
For the first time in five years, the Riverside County Office of Education’s Teen Poet Laureate student competition has been awarded to a student from Temecula Valley Unified School District.
During this year’s event, held on October 27, the title of the 2026 Teen Poet Laureate was awarded to Hayley Foo, a junior at Great Oak High School in the Temecula Valley Unified School District.
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The RCOE Teen Poet Laureate program, created in collaboration with the Inlandia Institute, received 163 entries this year. After being reviewed by six judges, a total of 35 finalists and eight super finalists were selected. Their poems can be viewed in the 2025-2026 Teen Poet Laureate Chapbook.
In school, Hayley is active in the National Honor Society, UNICEF, Red Cross, Biology and Medical Club. Outside school, she also serves as the Chair of the National Student Bioethics Association, where she champions bioethics and advocates for healthcare access and equality.
Although being a part of the medical pathway is a big part of her life, Hayley has always had a strong passion for writing. She also founded a non-profit Teen Zine platform to amplify teens' voices, poetry, and creative work.
“I want to share my dream and my vision for the world, a system of inclusion, by preserving human connections,” Hayley said enthusiastically. “When I write, I want to encourage others to identify who they’re close to, bridge those connections, and see what they can do to preserve them.”
Winning the 2026 Teen Poet Laureate Award was more than an accomplishment to showcase in her future college applications. This honor reflects years of writing, gathering inspiration from her own experiences, and is all done with the goal of healing others through writing.
Fell into Writing…Literally
Hayley's writing journey began when she was three years old, after she fell and bumped her head on the bathtub.
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“Writing that poem was my way of coping, of making sense of something scary,” Hayley said. “Looking back at that poem, I can see that writing was my way of turning a frightening moment into a place where I could feel safe again, and somehow gain control.”
Since then, Hayley has continued to write poems and fantasy stories, gathering inspiration from nature, different relationships, and her favorite writer, Gloria Jean.
“Her poems were written in lowercase because she wanted her audience to focus on the work rather than herself. Gloria wants her audience to think more about the meaning behind all of her words and her stylistic choices,” Hayley explained when reflecting on her writing inspiration. “For me, I lowercase my poems because it puts emphasis on the connections and the emotions. Not choosing to capitalize words just feels more intimate, which is what I wanted for my audience.”
Hayley’s writing style is reflected most in her award-winning poem, “Ampersand”.
A Closer Look at Ampersand
When asked about her poem, Hayley said it was inspired by the meaning and history of the ampersand.
“Ampersand is another way to say ‘and’. It’s usually used when you want to link something together or join things together. And so I thought it would be really cool to talk about how we're all on different paths and have these unique experiences that will never leave us, and each of these experiences will always shape who we are and help us connect with other people in the same way.”
After doing more research, she was shocked when she discovered the history behind the ampersand.
“I learned that the ampersand used to be the 27th letter at the end of the alphabet, but somewhere between then and now, we discarded it,” Hayley voiced. “The idea of something so crucial at the end of the alphabet being lost and forgotten inspired me to write about human connections in today’s society.”
Like the discarding of the 27th letter, Hayley is worried society will lose the value in fostering connections.
“In my poem, I wanted to preserve human connection because it's genuine and authentic,” Hayley explains. “While social media and the internet are useful, I want my audience to look around, identify who they have real connections with, and keep building upon that.”
In a world of evolving technology that keeps us all busy and on screens, Hayley uses “Ampersand” to remind her audience that maintaining in-person relationships is vital for fostering growth in society.
“Any kind of relationship is always really crucial to developing your own identity and building a community that's reliable and can inspire the next generation.”
While keeping all these ideas close to her heart, Hayley started most stanzas of her poem with an ampersand on purpose.
“I always start my stanzas off with an ampersand mimicking that ongoing motion of the world always moving forward, but it also represents the act of linking together and of holding on.”
Trying to convey the importance of needing the past to build the future, Hayley has written numerous poems to communicate this message.
“Poetry broke the wall I’d built around myself and turned it into a bridge, one that I now want to extend to others. I’ve learned that connection is the most beautiful thing we can create,” Hayley said passionately. “Writing has a way of opening doors, creating connections, and helping us see ourselves more clearly.”
Hayley’s Other Words
“Ampersand” was one in a 210-page document full of poems, which Hayley calls “My Other Words”.
All the poems within this document consist of six central themes: identity, belonging, human connection, grief and loss, social justice, and poverty.
Hayley’s “My Other Words” isn’t just a document of thoughts; it’s the blueprint for her vision of humanity joining in union, and as Hayley gets older, she plans to spread her vision to everyone.
“I just want to encourage everyone to write. You don’t have to be a poet or a perfect writer or storyteller, just someone willing to put your feelings, thoughts, or imagination on the page. And, you never know whose heart it might reach. Stories live in all of us; all we have to do is share them.”
What’s Next?
As this year comes to an end, Hayley prepares to publish her second children's poetry book, “Wonderfully You”, and plans to read her new poetry book at local hospitals to share her work, all before she graduates from high school.
Hayley plans to apply to Harvard to study biology. She hopes to grow in a community that nurtures both scientific learning and creative expression.
"For my dream school, I’m drawn to Harvard's combination of scientific rigor and creative freedom, and I hope to be surrounded by people with strong interests in literature, poetry, language, and the arts. It’s the ideal environment to grow and nurture my love of writing."
With big goals awaiting her future, Hayley is passionate about sharing her voice, advocating for teens to find and embrace their own, &...
