Local students earn Scholastic Art & Writing honors
Canon-McMillan Senior High School Ella Neiderer was awarded a Gold Key in the Southwestern Pennsylvania region of Scholastic Art & Writing Competition for her artwork, “Family Vacation.” Neiderer’s work, along with the other winning submissions, are currently on exhibit at Penn West California University.
Canon-McMillan Senior High School student Grace Lackovic earned a Gold Key in the Southwestern Pennsylvania region of the Scholastic Art & Writing Competition for her mixed media work, titled “Pop!” Her work, and the submissions of the other winners in the region, were entered into the national competition.
Courtesy of Sienna Heasley
Sienna Heasley, a sophomore at Trinity High School, was awarded several Gold and Silver Keys in the Scholastic Art & Writing Competition’s Southwestern Pennsylvania region for her artwork, including this piece, “Some Number of Days Spent in Ordinary Ways.” She has moved on to the national competition.
Courtesy of Waynesburg Central High School
Waynesburg Central High School student Alexis Rockwell’s self-portrait won a Silver Key in the portrait division of the Scholastic Art & Writing competition in the Southwestern Pennsylvania region.
Courtesy of Sienna Heasley
“The Guilt of Nothing and Me,” by Trinity High School sophomore Sienna Heasley, captured a Gold Key in the Scholastic Art & Writing southwestern Pennsylvania regional competition.
Paige Butler, a student at A.J. McMullen Middle School in the Uniontown Area School District, won a Gold Key in the Scholastic Arts & Writing for her painting.
Leah Rockey, a student at Connellsville Middle School, was awarded a Gold Key in the Southwestern Pennsylvania regional competition of the Scholastic Art & Writing competition for this digital art piece.
Student artists and writers from Washington, Greene, and Fayette counties are being recognized for their submissions to the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.
The students join a legacy of celebrated authors and artists including Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates and Andy Warhol, all of whom received recognition in the Scholastic awards when they were teens.
The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards are the nation’s longest-running and most prestigious recognition program for teenage artists and writers in grades seven through 12 who compete regionally and nationally in 28 categories – among them, painting, poetry, flash fiction, and mixed media.
This year, 314 student submissions were reviewed, and the Southwestern Pennsylvania region judges tackled the difficult task of narrowing them down to 101 art awards and 99 writing awards. In art, judges awarded 19 Gold Awards, 30 Silver Key Awards and 52 Honorable Mentions.
In writing, 16 writers earned Gold Keys, 35 earned Silver Keys, and 48 earned Merit Awards.
Award recipients will be recognized at a ceremony and reception at Penn West California University on Sunday, March 19.
The Gold Key winners are now competing in the national competition in New York City, and winners will be announced June 6.
At Waynesburg Central High School, six students earned Scholastic honors for writing, including Vivian Greenwood, who was awarded three Gold Keys and two Silver keys, and another student was awarded a Scholastic Silver Key for art.
Stacie Evans, an English teacher at Waynesburg Central, said, “I’m very proud of all my students this year and believe these awards were well earned.
“The regional competition is tough. The standards are high,” she continued. “Every award in the Scholastic competition is to be celebrated, even the honorable mentions. I remind students that it’s recognition for strong writing by professionals in the field, and any and every award is meaningful.”
Logan Baker, a 10th-grader from Eighty Four who is home-schooled, was awarded two Gold Keys for writing and also was nominated for the American Voices Award.
Baker has been writing since he has been young, and noted that once in kindergarten, when students were assigned to dress in an outfit of the job they aspired to work in when they grew up, he dressed as a writer.
“I was certainly surprised and excited when I found out,” said Baker. “I submitted four pieces, and the two that I thought were the worst were the ones that ended up scoring the best regionally.”
American Vision nominee Sienna Heasley, a sophomore at Trinity High School, earned four Gold Keys, three Silver Keys and an honorable mention for her art.
“It’s always a nice experience doing the competition. I’m proud of the ones that won,” said Heasley, who began focusing seriously on art in seventh grade and is planning a career in fine arts, graphic design or architecture. “I’m pretty excited about nationals. I believe those four (Gold Key winners) have a chance, and I want to see where it goes. It was fun working on all of the pieces this year.”
Nationally, about 100,000 teens submitted more than 300,000 entries in regional Scholastic programs this year.
The young artists’ and writers’ work is on exhibit at Penn West California’s Louis L. Manderino Library through March 19.
The exhibit is in the gallery on the third floor of the library, where the awards reception will be held. Doors open at noon, and the ceremony in the Natali Student Center will be held at 2 p.m.
Local Gold Key winners whose entries will be judged at the national competition are:
American Vision Nominees
Sara Setto, Trinity High School, Ceramics & Glass; Sienna Heasley, Trinity High School, Painting, Drawing & Illustration; Ella Neiderer, Canon-McMillan High School, Painting.
Portfolio Gold Key
Grace Lackovic, Canon-McMillan High School.
Gold Key
Rylie Armstrong, Trinity High School, Drawing; Ella Boehmer, Charleroi Area High School, Ceramics; Halaynah Brangard, Albert Gallatin High School, Drawing; Paige Butler, A.J. McMullen Middle School, Painting; Jacob Grimes, Lakeview Christian Academy, Photography; Conrad Hartman, Lakeview Christian Academy, Drawing; Kaelin Hartman, Lakeview Christian Academy, Painting; Sienna Heasley, Trinity High School, Painting, Mixed Media, Drawing; Grace Lackovic, Canon-McMillan High School, Drawing; Ella Neiderer, Canon-McMillan High School, Painting; Leah Rockey, Connellsville Middle School, Digital Art; Zoe Rose, Canon-McMillan High School, Digital Art; Sara Setto, Trinity High School, Ceramics.
American Voice Nominees
Logan Baker, Write from the Heart, Humor and Personal Essay; Madelyn Barch, Canon-McMillan, Science Fiction; Vivian Greenwood, Waynesburg Central High School, Personal Essay, Critical Essay.
Portfolio Gold Key
Riley Dunn, Trinity High School.
Gold Key
Trysten Adams, Waynesburg Central High School, Personal Essay; Benjamin Bowman, Belle Vernon Area Middle School, Science Fiction; Isabella Bull, home-school, Short Story 1; Riley Dunn, Trinity High School, Science Fiction; Brooklyn Grau, Peters Township High School, Personal Essay; Vivian Greenwood, Waynesburg Central High School, Personal Essay.