On April 16th, 2026, poet Michele Evans visited Lightridge to talk about her journey as a poet. Evans, who is also a teacher at Broad Run High School and advisor of the school’s literary magazine, talked to students in English classes and the National English Honor Society.

Evans has had two collections published, “purl” in 2025 and “februaries” in 2026. She read some of her poems from her books and answered some questions from the students about the writing process. She talked about how she got published, how much poetry means to her, and how it has impacted her throughout her life. She also answered questions from roughly 120 students in the audience. Before school Evans led a poetry workshop.

“I was very intrigued by the work that she showed us. I think she was very talented, she gave a lot of insight,” said senior Jemma Groeneveld. “I felt very inspired, I wanted to go home and write more because of her.”