Herricks High School announced regional Gold Key, Silver Key and Honorable Mention honorees in the 2019 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards for the Northeast Writing Region-at-Large.
Presented by the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers, this program provides opportunities for students to receive recognition, exhibition, publication and scholarships.
The Herricks students were up against 350,000 entries in 29 categories of art and writing from students across the country. Junior Carrie Hsu and senior Joanna Lau each received four Gold Key awards and will be considered for national level medals later this year. They also received Silver Key awards, as did junior Mia Carranza, while juniors Aroob Jalil and Izzah Nazir earned Honorable Mentions.
“Congratulations to each and every one of these students, and to all of the teachers who have worked with and inspired them over the years,” said Director of ELA, Reading and Library Services K-12 Michael Imondi. “Our writers become this special because of the critical thinking that all of our teachers challenge them to do on a daily basis.”
Mr. Imondi extended a special acknowledgment to teacher Alan Semerdjian for cultivating these writers in the English Scholars Program.
The full list of awards is as follows:
- Mia Carranza: Silver Key for Flash Fiction “Gaia.”
- Carrie Hsu: Gold Key for Personal Essay/Memoir “Black Specks;” Gold Key for Personal Essay/Memoir “Mirrors;” Gold Key for Poetry “A Foot in the Door;” Gold Key for Flash Fiction “La Vie;” Silver Key for Poetry “Two Coats of Veneer” and Honorable Mention for Poetry “Finite.”
- Aroob Jalil: Honorable Mention for Poetry “Lapis Lazuli.”
- Joanna Lau: Gold Key for Personal Essay/Memoir “Edges;” Gold Key for Poetry “Fly, Asian Girl;” Gold Key for Poetry “Staircase of Everything Inside Me;” Gold Key for Personal Essay/Memoir “The Right to the Skies;” Honorable Mention for Poetry “Snow from a Raincloud in a Sunny Sky” and Honorable Mention for Personal Essay/Memoir “Black Coffee.”
- Izzah Nazir: Honorable Mention for Poetry “Unsent Letters.”