HFC alumna Safa Hijazi wins U-M’s Keith Taylor Excellence in Poetry Award

On April 12, HFC alumna Safa Hijazi won The Keith Taylor Excellence in Poetry Award for her collection of poems called “Let Us Get Lost in the Valleys.”

The Taylor Award is part of the prestigious Hopwood Awards Program at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. This award is the namesake of Keith Taylor, a poet, writer, director of the Bear River Writers’ Conference, and former coordinator of the U-M English Department’s undergraduate creative writing program.

Hijazi took first place and was awarded with a certificate and $500, which will be applied to her tuition for the 2023-24 academic year. Not only was this her first semester at U-M, but this was also her first time submitting her work to a competition.

“I was really excited, because I never sent my poems into a contest before. I was excited to get the recognition,” she said.

She spent her HFC coursework improving her writing skills

Many of the poems in this collection were written during her time at HFC in English instructor Ruth Ann Schmitt’s creative writing class. Hijazi called Schmitt a major influence on her work.

“I spent the entire class improving my writing skills and really enjoyed it. She’s one of those teachers who proved that English is something you can pursue and be successful in. She was a great teacher, which is always inspirational,” said Hijazi. “She opened me up to the creative writing program at U-M. When I transferred, I knew I wanted to send poems into a competition, thanks to her guidance.”

Schmitt is proud of her former student.

“It was a delight to have her in class. Safa distinguished herself in my creative writing class as an intelligent, thoughtful student,” she said. “She was a rare student with her use of imagistic language and intellectual curiosity. Her comments about writing and form showed subtlety, maturity, and engagement. She read Muslim poets Leila Chatti and Hayan Charara and found them influential to her own work.”

Experiences that changed her life

The eldest of six, Hijazi is a lifelong Dearborn resident. She graduated from Fordson High School and studied liberal arts and English at HFC. Hijazi, who speaks conversational Arabic, also completed coursework in computer science at the College. She will graduate from U-M in 2025, earning her bachelor’s degree in English with a concentration in creative writing. Afterward, she will pursue graduate studies with the goal of teaching at the college level.

“Attending HFC made a lot of sense coming out of high school and not knowing what career you wanted to pursue,” said Hijazi. “You can explore a lot of classes at the College.”

Initially, Hijazi planned to go into computer science. That changed when she took English classes at the College.

“I always liked to read and write. It comes naturally to me. It was something always in the back of my mind, so it just made sense to major in English,” said Hijazi.

Had she gone directly to U-M out of high school, Hijazi believes she wouldn’t have majored in English. She would have gone into a STEM-related field instead.

“HFC changed that,” she said. “I really enjoyed my time at the College. It changed my life.”