Grade 10 R.D. Parker Collegiate student Parker Baker took home third place in the Poetry Institute of Canada’s National Poetry Contest for his poem “The Key to Life.”

Baker, 16, has been writing creatively since he was 12 years old and first got involved with poetry when a friend introduced him to the craft four years ago.

The prize winning poem that Baker entered was actually written when he was 15 years old and has been published in the Poetry Institute of Canada’s anthology Island Wonders.

Winning came as a bit of a surprise to Baker, who says that poetry writing is more of a hobby to him than anything else.

“This was the first contest that I had ever entered, so when I found out that I had won third prize I was really shocked,” said Baker.

Born in Thompson, and raised for the most part in Saskatchewan, Baker enjoys English in school, though he is admittedly not an avid reader and most of his writing is done outside of school.

Baker enjoys writing in the fantasy genre, and poetry along with short stories are his preference when it comes to the literary arts. Despite excelling with the written word, Baker says he has never really considered a career in literature and that he prefers to keep it as a hobby.

When he isn’t winning prizes for his poetry work, Baker is a member of the Thompson Air Cadets and is also an advocate for social justice, participating on such committees as the R.D. Parker H3 (Hands, Hearts, Hope) group and YAC (Youth Aboriginal Council).