The title, and the ladder to it
WBUR's Here & Now introduced Pacheco as the 2024 National Youth Poet Laureate in a broadcast on 26 April 2024. The appointment is annual and national: one young writer holds it at a time, chosen from the city and state laureates who feed into the programme run by Urban Word.
Pacheco arrived through both lower rungs. She was New York City Youth Poet Laureate, and then the inaugural New York State Youth Poet Laureate, the first person to hold a title that did not exist before her. Winning a national appointment after being the first holder of a state one is an unusually clean progression through a system that is only a decade old.
What she writes about
Her subject is the place she comes from and the people in it. WBUR describes work rooted in her community and her upbringing, and used for argument as much as for art: Pacheco advocates through poems for educational justice and for resources for schools, which is a specific and unromantic use of a laureateship.
She has described the moment the material became obvious to her. "I saw that happening," she said of the stories around her, "and I was like, oh, so if people are just walking around with all these stories." The named poem in the coverage, Yo, Steph! Where You From?, takes the standard question put to a young woman from the Bronx and turns it into the occasion for the answer.
What she says poetry is for
Asked about the form itself, Pacheco gave a definition short enough to quote whole. "Poetry is an art form that just requires you to lead with love," she said. There is no technical claim in it and no gatekeeping; it is an invitation, and she followed it with one.
"I'd say to other young people to remember the power of your voice and your story," she told WBUR. Youth laureates are appointed partly to say exactly this in public, and the programme measures its success in how many teenagers start writing because someone their age was given a microphone.
The record beyond the broadcast
The research file for this page adds detail carried by the National Youth Poet Laureate programme's own profile: that Pacheco is from the Bronx, that she won the Princeton Prize in Race Relations in 2021, and that she has performed at the Apollo Theater, the Kennedy Center and the Barclays Center.
Those are three of the largest stages in New York and Washington, and a prize given for work on race relations rather than for verse alone. Together they describe a writer already used to a room before the national title arrived, which is the usual pattern among laureates: the appointment recognises a performing career that is several years old by the time it comes.
What is documented, and what is not
Documented: the 2024 national appointment, the city and inaugural state laureateships, the Bronx as her home, the named poem, her stated purpose in writing and her quotations, all from WBUR's Here & Now segment of 26 April 2024 and the programme's own profile page.
Not documented in these sources: her age or date of birth, which is why no birth year appears on this page; her school or university; her family; any published book; and what she has done since her laureate year. Where a site gives an age for her without citing anything, it should not be trusted.
Watch: Stephanie Pacheco on camera
| Person | Country | Milestone | Age / Stat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Evan Wang | United States | 2025 National Youth Poet Laureate; first male holder | Age 17 |
| Alyssa Gaines | United States | Sixth US National Youth Poet Laureate (2022) | Age 18 |
| Stephanie Pacheco | United States | 2024 National Youth Poet Laureate of the United States | — |
| Salome Agbaroji | United States | From a Los Angeles high school stage to the Golden Globes, a halftime show | — |
| Meera Dasgupta | United States | The fourth National Youth Poet Laureate was chosen on a live stream, from | — |
What is documented — and what is not
✓ Documented
- Named 2024 National Youth Poet Laureate; reported by WBUR's Here & Now on 26 April 2024
- Previously New York City Youth Poet Laureate and the inaugural New York State Youth Poet Laureate
- From the Bronx; known for the poem Yo, Steph! Where You From?
- Won the Princeton Prize in Race Relations in 2021 and has performed at the Apollo, the Kennedy Center and Barclays Center
? Unverified, disputed or wrong
- No age or date of birth in these sources
- No school, university or degree recorded
- No publication or activity documented after the laureate year
Questions people ask about Stephanie Pacheco
What is Stephanie Pacheco known for?
Being named the 2024 National Youth Poet Laureate of the United States, after holding the New York City title and the first New York State youth laureateship.
How old is Stephanie Pacheco?
No age or date of birth is given in the sources used here.
Where is Stephanie Pacheco from?
The Bronx, New York.
What poem is she known for?
Yo, Steph! Where You From?, the work named in WBUR's coverage of her appointment.
What does she write about?
Her community and upbringing, and educational justice, including advocacy for resources for schools.
Who runs the National Youth Poet Laureate programme?
Urban Word, which publishes the roster of laureates and the profile pages for each holder.
Is Stephanie Pacheco on Wikipedia?
No English Wikipedia article is recorded for her in this file.
Has she published a book?
No book is recorded in the sources used here.
Quick quiz: how well do you know Pacheco’s story?
Which title did Stephanie Pacheco receive in 2024?
Which poem is named in the coverage of her?
Which state laureateship did she hold first?
Sources
- Meet Stephanie Pacheco, the 2024 National Youth Poet Laureate — WBUR Here & Now, 2024-04-26
- Stephanie Pacheco — National Youth Poet Laureate (Urban Word)
Checked by the Geniuses.club editorial team. Ages are given as of September 2026.
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