CHADRON - Nearly 900 students from 32 high schools around the region will gather at Chadron State College on Wednesday, Oct. 15, for the annual Scholastic Contest, a tradition that recognizes the academic talents of high school students from around the area.

This year’s contest will feature tests in various academic disciplines such as mathematics, agriculture, history, art, business, science, and writing. The first test will begin at 8:30 a.m., with the final test of the day starting at 11:30 a.m.

High school junior and senior students winning first place on an exam will receive a Scholastic Achievement Award, including a $500 CSC tuition waiver. All first-place winners will receive a CSC sweatshirt and the top three in each test category will receive a medal. Participation and merit certificates will also be awarded.

According to Sabrina Fox, co-chair of the CSC Scholastic Contest Committee, the test subjects of Flash Fiction and Literary Analysis will have more competitors this year due to an expanded number of available entries. Flash Fiction challenges students to think on their feet and create a short story that exhibits their imaginative, descriptive, and compositional skills. Literary Analysis competitors will analyze a poem or prose passage and write a short essay identifying literacy techniques.

The Student Center Dining Hall and a snack bar will be available for the duration of the contest.

CSC to host virtual High Plains Regional Conference

CHADRON, Neb. — The Sigma Beta Chapter of Sigma Tau Delta at Chadron State College will host a virtual High Plains Regional Conference Friday, Oct. 17 and Saturday, Oct. 18.

The free event is open to the public with online registration, according to the chapter adviser, Associate Professor, and High Plains Regent Dr. Mary Clai Jones.

Undergraduate and graduate students, as well as Sigma Tau Delta members and alumni, will present critical papers and creative works, including topics such as literature, popular culture, media, film, rhetoric, composition studies, and pedagogy.

Guest author Jenna Goldsmith, poet and Senior Instructor I at Oregon State University Cascades, will headline the conference with a reading and Q&A at 6:30 p.m. (MDT) Oct. 17. Goldsmith, author of the 2022 chapbook CRUSH and the poet laureate of Rockford, Illinois, from 2023 to 2025, will also participate in discussions with attendees.

A detailed schedule is available on the Sigma Tau Delta page.

Other activities include an open mic night, roundtable networking for the 2026 International Convention, and student presentation sessions.

For more information, contact Jones at mjones@csc.edu.