72 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards for Groton Students

Twenty-five Groton students have won seventy-two regional Scholastic Art & Writing awards, including one national gold medal and eighteen gold keys, the highest regional honor.

Sophia Nicole-Bay ’23 won a national gold medal for her personal essay “Hunger,” which will be published on the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards website in June. Of nearly 230,000 writing submissions nationwide, only 2,000 received a national medal. Sophia also received a gold key for her short story “Family Reunion” and an honorable mention for her photograph, titled “That Fleeting Moment.”

Colin Kim ’23 won a gold key and a Best in Category art award in expanded projects for “Fragmented,” a video montage. He also received a silver key for his short story “The Vaccine” and an honorable mention for his art project “Blur.”

Angela Wei ’21 won the most awards overall, with gold keys for her poem “Fairy Tale for Gardeners,” her painting “My Hands Make No Amendments,” and her art portfolio “The Diotimas.” She also won silver keys for three poems, two personal essays, two paintings, and a mixed media work. Angela received honorable mentions for three paintings, and a poem, personal essay, mixed media work, and a design piece.

Five other students received honors in both art and writing. Yici Cai ’22 won a gold key for her painting “270 Million Grains” and honorable mentions for her personal essay “White Rabbit,” painting “Mopping Up,” and mixed media artwork “Latest Addiction.” Janice Zhai ’21 won a gold key for her personal essay “The Weight of Beauty” and honorable mentions for fashion projects “Bloom” and “The Swan.”

Yuen Ning Chang ’21 received a silver key for her photograph “Gilded” and honorable mentions for her personal essay, “A Hearty Bowl of Mak’s Noodles,” and film project, “Zamtang: Seeking Spirituality through Thangka.” Noemi Iwasaki ’22 received a silver key for her critical essay, “The Slog Towards Acceptance in Japanese Society” and honorable mentions for her drawing “Blue Peter” and painting “Feeling Nervous, Buddy?” Mei Matsui ’23 won a silver key for her comic art “Siren” and an honorable mention for her short story, “Her Sepulchre There by the Sea.”

Four other students received art awards:

Amy Sharma ’23 won gold keys for paintings “Tupandactylus imperator in the Underworld” and “Azdarchid, The Tree Will Grow” and an honorable mention for her triptych drawing “Pterosaur Eyes: A Life.”
Jack Wang ’22 won a silver key for his photograph “City Geometry.”
Tyler Weisberg ’22 won gold keys for photographs “$0.96/hour” and “66-year Hustle” and honorable mentions for photographs “Riding In The Light,” “Reflection In Steps,” and “Ding! Ding!”
Paopao Zhang ’24 won a silver key for comic art, “I’m Ash,” and an honorable mention for a drawing, “Veggie Burger.”

Thirteen other students received writing awards:

Beatrice Agbi ’21 won gold keys for personal essays “An American in Paris” and “Notes on an Iye,” a silver key for poem “Shoot,” and an honorable mention poem, “On Breonna Taylor.”
Morgan Arnold ’23 received an honorable mention for her short story “The Lost Light of Dawn.”
Alisa Gulyansky ’24 won a gold key for her work of science fiction/fantasy “Mango Loves Company.”
Edric Kan ’22 won silver keys for flash fiction piece “Another Pot” and poem “Sweeter Honey” and an honorable mention for critical essay “The Influence of Endowment on a University's 2020 Fall Reopening Plan.”
Jiacheng Kang ’22 won a silver key for his critical essay “Land of the Poseur and Home of Men.”
Michelle Kim ’23 won a gold key for her critical essay “Conscientious Stipulations: A Compromise of Religious Conscience” and honorable mentions for personal essay “A Snapshot of You” and flash fiction piece “Sold.”
Annie Pei ’22 won a gold key for her short story “Strangers to War” and an honorable mention for her poem “The Thief.”
Amelia Pottash ’23 won a gold key for her short story “The Overhang.”
Fiona Reenan ’23 received an honorable mention for short story “You, Me, and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.”
Benjamin Reyes ’23 won silver keys for science fiction/fantasy piece “When the Sun Came Crashing Down” and short story “Juvenile Joy.”
Will Vrattos ’23 received an honorable mention for his short story “The Clockmaker.”
Hannah Wise ’21 received an honorable mention for personal essay “Not So Wild.”
Julie Xie ’23 won a silver key for personal essay “Dumpling Days.”