A Peach State migration: How a Macon teen’s journey inspired an award-winning poem

When Jaiden Geolingo moved from the Philippines in 2022 and started attending Macon’s Howard High School, he was so moved by the work of the state’s young poets that he began taking his own writing more seriously.

Looking inward, Geolingo realized he actually had something important to say. What he didn’t know was this: His voice would soon echo across the state.

Last month, the rising senior brought home the Georgia Poet Laureate’s Prize for his poem, “Peach State Migration,” which was chosen from 100 entered statewide.

The year before, he was a finalist for the award, which aims to foster creativity in students in grades 9-12.

“Peach State Migration” draws on his background as an immigrant, his time in Georgia and a universal coming-of-age theme. It came from the emotion that “was so bubbled up” in him, he said, that it could be expressed only through poetry.

“‘Peach State Migration’ was something that was written for me … and something that I feel like the whole world can see that speaks volumes about something I’m so passionate about,” he said.

Geolingo conjures images of Atlanta and Macon and combines them with details from his memories to reflect on his journey to this moment.

He said he’s always written with sincerity and looked at life through a poetic eye, finding meaning in things that, to others, might seem meaningless.

Creating art and poetry allows him to express something uniquely himself that can resonate with so many different people.

“A lot of art stems from other art, a lot of art is recycled yet original,” he said.

Chelsea Rathburn, Georgia’s poet laureate and an English professor at Mercer University, said the teenager already comes across as a “fully formed writer.” 

She remembers Geolingo emailing her to ask if it was OK if his submission was just a few lines over the mandated length. The poem he ended up submitting was 70 lines packed into the space for 30.

She said the teenager writes with confidence and comes up with phrases that are “incredibly surprising.”

His poem “makes technical moves that an adult twice this writer’s age would be jealous of,” she said.

Getting published in a literary journal is “extremely competitive,” Rathburn added, but Geolingo has already accomplished that.

He’s been published in several literary magazines and journals and is even the editor of one himself. He also published his debut book, “How To Migrate Ghosts,” in 2025.

On the practical side, his achievements might help get him into a good college. Others are quick to praise him for his successes. But that’s never been the goal for him. 

“I just love to send my work off and hope other people could read it and have that same sort of fire,” he said.

Geolingo’s move to Macon from the Philippines was “a very transformative experience,” he said, adding that in America he can  explore writing in a more accepting environment.

He grew up watching Nickelodeon alongside Filipino cartoons, while also devouring every single book in the “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” series and other contemporary youth classics like “Harry Potter” and “The Hunger Games.”

He went to a private school in the Philippines that emphasized English before ending up at Howard High School.

“I feel like Macon, in general, has been very welcoming to me, and I really love every part of it,” he said.

He’s the vice president of hospitality for Georgia’s DECA team, an organization that prepares high school students for the business world. He also took part in the downtown poetry slam in 2025, where Rathburn said he showed off his flexibility as an orator.

His craft has pushed him to seek out fellow poets.

Geolingo said he’s found many young writers — from around the world — through Instagram and TikTok to connect with and workshop his poetry.

“Poetry is such a universal connector in all these different walks of life,” he said.

When he’s not writing or in class, Geolingo likes to watch movies. His recent favorite is “Everything Everywhere All At Once.” He’s rarely found without an AirPod in his ear.

Lately, he’s been writing more poems about issues such as consumerism, class inequality, capitalism and social justice.

Where many other kids might drop some of their high school interests once they reach their dream college, Geolingo said he plans to keep writing. The reason is simple: because he loves it. 

To read Geolingo’s poem and the other finalists, go to Atlanta Magazine’s website.