A 10th-grade student has turned the Tristar Reads competition into a years-long tradition and a more than $3,000 investment in college scholarships.¶
At a ceremony held inside the Portland Public Library in Portland, Tennessee, Tallen Haag was recognized as the 2026 high school winner of the Tristar Reads Competition. Representative Sabi “Doc” Kumar, R-Springfield, presented Haag with an official proclamation of her win.¶
Tristar Reads is a summer reading initiative run by Tennesseans for Student Success, a nonprofit advocating for better academic outcomes for Tennessee public school students. Haag previously won the competition in its elementary and middle school divisions in 2019 and 2022.¶
Tristar Reads challenges students in kindergarten through 12th grade to read for at least 20 minutes per day during summer break. Tennesseans for Student Success Director of Policy and Outreach Meredith McGann said students across the state logged more than 550,000 minutes this summer, and more than 3 million minutes over the program’s history.¶
The competition, sponsored and supported by Atmos Energy, awards an overall winner and three winners from each level of primary schooling a $1,000 scholarship. Haag has now racked up $3,000 in Tristar Reads award money.¶
“These scholarships are more important than ever, and they may make the difference in what school I choose and can go to,” Haag said. “In fact, my first college road trip is soon, so getting this scholarship is so meaningful.”¶
Building Habits at the Library
Haag said her parents encouraged reading from a young age and took her to the library for the first time after noticing a speech delay and difficulty forming letters.¶
“I kept writing all of my letters backward,” Haag said. “So, in their own unique fashion, they just threw more and more books at me.”¶
Haag attended educational camps and university-based programs during summer break, so she read across several settings. She carried paper logs to capture every minute and balanced assigned academic reading with books she chose for her own enjoyment, including Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None and Frank Herbert’s Dune.¶
Linda Ackerman, who was a librarian for almost 30 years, has known Haag since she was a child and described the Portland Public Library as a second school for Haag.¶
“There’s a picture of her and me together, and she was shorter than me,” Ackerman said of Haag’s first Tristar Reads win in 2019. “That was probably the last time (she) was shorter than me. She’s just been using our library forever and ever.”¶
When Rep. Kumar spoke to the crowd, he told a story about studying organic chemistry during a summer in college and how it helped him return to school prepared, not behind.¶
“Summer reading is very important because generally we put the books back and say, ‘I want to be a child,” Kumar said. “Summer is (a) time to catch up and prepare.”¶
Haag said her third Tristar Reads achievement remains inseparable from the people who helped build her reading habits, and she thanked Tennesseans for Student Success for creating the program.¶
“(Tennesseans for Student Success has) made college dreams possible for hardworking students all across the state, and their work is so vital to our communities,” Haag said.¶
