• Feb. 20, 2019

    Four students advance to national art & writing competition

    Photo: The Light in the Darkness Four Upper St. Clair High School students were recently named 2019 Gold Key recipients in the regional Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Juniors Isabela Couoh and Eden Auslander; sophomore Manjiri Palayekar; and freshman Judy Wang now move on to national judging in New York City, and will be considered for national Gold and Silver Medals and Special Achievement Awards.

    Isabela Couoh, grade 11
    Gold Key – Art for “Fading Away” (Category: Photography)
    Gold Key – Art for “Building a Wall” (Category: Photography)
    Gold Key – Art for “The Light in the Darkness” (Category: Photography) 

    Manjiri Palayekar, grade 10
    Gold Key – Art for “Awakening” (Category: Drawing & Illustration) 

    Judy Wang, grade 9
    Gold Key – Art for “I” (Category: Painting)

    Eden Auslander, grade 11
    Gold Key – Writing for “Procrastination” (Category: Poetry) 

    National Medalists will be announced on the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards website on March 13, 2019, and will be recognized during the National Ceremony at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

    Photo: Building a Wall The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, open to students in grades 7–12, recognize student achievement in the visual and literary arts in 29 categories, including editorial cartoon, poetry, graphic design, fashion, science fiction, video game design and more.

    All works are evaluated through blind adjudication first on a regional level by more than 100 local affiliates of the Alliance and then nationally by an impressive panel of creative industry experts. At each level of judging, all works are reviewed based on the same criteria that have represented the program since its founding in 1923: originality, technical skill, and emergence of personal vision or voice.

    Students earning regional recognition include:

    Markella Jahn, grade 8
    Honorable Mention – Writing for "The Quiet Café" (Category: Short Story) 

    Julia Roeschenthanler, grade 9
    Honorable Mention – Writing for "Lies" (Category: Poetry)
    Silver Key – Writing for "The Bricks That Bondage Built" (Category: Poetry)

    Claire Chen, grade 11
    Honorable Mention – Art for “Sunset at Kitty Hawk” (Category: Painting) 

    Antara Cleetus, grade 10
    Honorable Mention – Art for “Birth of T-Rubix” (Category: Painting) 

    Eileen Guo, grade 10
    Honorable Mention – Art for “Different Personalities” (Category: Painting) 

    Katherine Li, grade 10
    Honorable Mention – Art for “Oil Spill” (Category: Digital Art)
    Honorable Mention – Art for “Love in Kazakhstan” (Category: Digital Art)
    Honorable Mention – Art for “Oh, What a Shame” (Category: Digital Art)
    Silver Key – Art for “Kindred Spirits” (Category: Painting) 

    Manjiri Palayekar, grade 10 (also a Gold Key winner)
    Honorable Mention – Art for “Ascension” (Category: Digital Art)
    Silver Key – Art for “The Story of Xoxhiquetzal and Hyacinth” (Category: Digital Art)
    Silver Key – Art for “Trees” (Category: Drawing and Illustration) 

    Lauren Teresi, grade 11
    Honorable Mention – Art for “Self Portrait” (Category: Photography)
    Silver Key – Art for “Smoke and Mirrors” (Category: Printmaking)
    Silver Key – Art for “Fields of Yellow” (Category: Photography)

    Award-winning artwork is on exhibit at the Community College of Allegheny County North Campus through Feb. 23. An awards ceremony will be held on Saturday, Feb. 23 at CCAC North. Writing awards will be presented at an awards ceremony at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 23 at the Frick Fine Arts Building on the University of Pittsburgh’s campus.

    The Upper St. Clair PTC promotes participation in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards through its Arts in USC initiative. The PTC along with the high school and Fort Couch PTSOs generously underwrite the registration cost of 40 student submissions.