• Primary - grades K-2
• Intermediate - grades 3-5
• Middle - grades 6-8
• Senior - grades 9-12
• Adult Student - ages 18 and older, enrolled in school
• Open Adult - ages 18 and older, not enrolled in school

• Building/School Contest Submitted to State Contest by December 20, 2025
• State Coordinators will submit top 3 winners in each category by February 20, 2026
• Individuals who do not have a State Contest must self-submit entries by February 20, 2026

• Each participant may submit only one poem or artwork entry.
• Entries must align with the 2025–2026 theme: The Evolution of Work: Careers in the Past, Present, and Future 
• Ensure that all information is accurate and complete to avoid disqualification. 
• File types accepted: PDF, JPEG, PNG, or Word Document

• Please print and manually complete the Entry Form below. 
• Scan and email the completed Entry Form, submitting as an attachment, along with your poem or artwork file(s), to Ed Colozzi, MACDA President

Download the Entry Form (PDF)

• Lettering: Simple bold lettering is preferred. Captions are to be used to convey the theme, attract attention, and to achieve goals of clarity, vigor, and originality. All lettering will be considered part of the design.
  
  
• Media:
• • Art 1 (A1): Standard use of ink, pencil, poster paints, magic marker, acrylics, and oils.
  • Art 2 (A2): Use of photos, clipart, graphic art software, collage, cut and pasted paper, and mixed media. 
  • Size: Each poster must be created in 8.5” x 11” format, including matte, to be eligible.

• Poetic Form: Acceptable poetic forms, e.g. cinquain, free verse, diamante, haiku, limerick, metered, rhyming, blank verse
• Size: Submit each poem on a single sheet of paper 8.5” x 11”, 12 point font.
  
  

• Judging will be based on originality, creativity, and development of the national theme.
• Poems will be evaluated on appropriate form, execution, spelling, and grammar.
• Art evaluation will focus on the appropriate use of media, lettering, and basic principles of art. 
• The winning entries for each division from the various State CDAs will be sent to NCDA for the final judging process.
• The winning entries for each division will be recognized and displayed on the NCDA website in June, as well as at the annual Global Career Development Conference to be held in each summer. National winners will also receive a special certificate from the National Career Development Association. Complete contest rules are listed in the entry form above.