Academic Magnet students continue to showcase their ability to be well rounded as they excel in not just their AP classes and athletics but with their creative hobbies as well. Recently, ten AMHS students gained recognition for their artistic achievements at the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards Regional Competition.

This contest has been around since 1923 and starting in seventh grade. Students can submit their art and writing to a variety of different categories such as photography, sculpture, poetry, and short stories. These works first are entered into a regional competition, depending on the geographic location of the student’s school. If the student receives a regional gold key for any pieces, when the results come out, then they are in the running for a national award. From there the fate of a student’s writing and art is in the hands of a panel of judges.

The national results do not get announced until March 13, but there are still plenty of other things to celebrate until then. Magnet has surpassed its numbers from last year in this competitions with its ten winners in various art and writing categories for 2018.

The creative writing pieces that Magnet students won for were about a variety of different topics. Adriana Ballinger (11) said that she was “inspired by the social and political climate of modern times” as well as observations of her life around her for her poem titled The Inevitable. Additionally, Madison Facello (11) won a silver key for her free verse poem and said she wrote this piece to “help a close friend who had just gone through a breakup.” Some students choose to write about personal experiences, in response to the state of the world around them, or as a medium of comfort for a hurting friend, but at the end of the day all of these creative pieces have one thing in common: they were all written by talented individuals who are being recognized by Scholastic for their achievements.

The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards offer chances for students with creative hobbies to share their work with others and receive scholarship and summer camp opportunities. It is a great way to get involved in an artistic community to further improve your own work by interacting with people all over the country. Locally though, students interested in art and writing can do workshops at Blue Bicycle Books or Creative Arts Mount Pleasant (CAMP) in addition to larger competitions like Scholastic. Adriana Carter (11) said that she wouldn’t be the writer she is today without the people she’s met through the Scholastic Awards and the creative writing club here at Magnet. If you are interested in improving your work or getting more involved in an artistic community, then definitely think about applying to the Scholastic Awards for next year!

Overall, Scholastic is a wonderful opportunity for student’s to get their work recognized. You should apply to the Scholastic Art and Writing awards if you are interested in topics such as script writing or photography. It is a great opportunity for your creative achievements to be recognized and looks great on college applications! If you see any of these students in the halls, congratulate them on their writing or art awards and check out http://www.artandwriting.org for more information about submitting to next year’s contest!

Below is a list of all of the winners and you can see the pieces they won for by clicking on the links!

Adriana Ballinger

Elise Blackburn

Abby Bonner

Adriana Carter

Madison Facello

Evelyn Bi

Ashley Bryan

Lauren Demarco

Eva Leach

Karoline Surydk

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