Finishing its 90th year, the Scholastic Writing Awards give students statewide in grades seven through 12 an opportunity to show off their writing chops. Presented by The Alliance for Young Writers and Artists, the awards provide recognition to Nevada students who show talent within the writing and arts genres. The purpose is to identify students with exceptional artistic and literary talent.
This year, Nevada took home one gold key for best works, 12 silver keys for exceptional ability, and 27 honorable mentions for great skill or potential.
Ava Goga won a Gold Key for her poem “Crawlspace.” Her piece will compete at the national level in New York City. National prizes include gold medals for the most outstanding works in the nation, silver medals for works deserving of high honors and special awards and scholarships. Those who won Silver Keys are: seventh-graders Wesley Bian and Ingrid Altunin; tenth-grader Maleah Milner; eleventh-graders Ava Goga, Adriana De Leon, Elyse Olesinksi, Symphony Wambaugh, and Adelaide Oh; and twelfth-graders Jordan Knowles and Jack Hester.
Those who won honorable mentions are: seventh-graders Sze Wing Lee and Griffin Faw; eighth-graders Sophie Moore, Jenny Jiang, Rhiannon Moore, Emi Kase Rohlfing, and Alyssa McKenzie; tenth-graders Claire Adams and Maleah Milner; eleventh-graders Elyse Olesinski, William Lento, Rommelyn Macatlang, Marcela Gonzalez, and Adelaide Oh; and twelfth-graders Benjamin Stevenson, Persiana Saffari, Nathaniel Hayes, Jasmin Palacios, Caitlin Pupich, and Emily-Chevaun Toskin.
Sierra Arts Foundation acts as a Regional Affiliate Organization of the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers. Founded in 1971, Sierra Arts Foundation is a local arts agency whose mission is to educate, nurture and support the arts. Sierra Arts Foundation provides education opportunities for artists of all ages, as well as development, training, financial support and promotional assistance.
