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The Beam · Issue #17

High School Student Logs 382 Hours of Reading to Win Tristar Reads Competition

High School Student Logs 382 Hours of Reading to Win Tristar Reads High School Competition
High School Student Logs 382 Hours of Reading to Win Tristar Reads High School Competition

Good afternoon.

This week, we dive into a story about a student who logged hundreds of hours of reading to win the Tristar Reads competition at the high school level. Tallen Haag won for the third time, making her the only student to ever win at all three primary school levels.

The Lead

High School Student Logs 382 Hours of Reading to Win Tristar Reads High School Competition

By Jacob Holley

Tallen Haag has now won the elementary, middle, and high school divisions of the competition across seven years.

Read the full story →

These scholarships are more important than ever, and they may make the difference in what school I choose and can go to.

Tallen Haag, 2026 Tristar Reads high school winner

By the numbers

382Hours of reading logged by Tallen Haag to win the 2026 high school division.
$3,000Total scholarship money Haag has earned across three Tristar Reads wins since 2019.
550,000Minutes logged by Tennessee students in the 2026 Tristar Reads competition.

Voices

Representative · R-Springfield
Summer reading is very important because generally we put the books back and say, 'I want to be a child.' Summer is (a) time to catch up and prepare.
Rep. Sabi "Doc" Kumar

That's it for this week. Look for a recap of the week's education news in your inbox tomorrow.

The Beam