On March 29, the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards announced its long-awaited decisions, with 16 students who listed THS as their affiliated school taking prizes in Writing and seven in Art. Additional THS students who took prizes listed their independent art studios as their affiliated schools.    

“Supporting the future and creativity since 1923,” the Scholastic Awards program encourages students to flourish in their creativity and original perspectives. Writings in the categories of Poetry, Personal Essay & Memoirs, Short Story, Journalism, and Critical Essay, and art pieces in the categories of Painting, Mixed Media, Editorial Cartoon, Film & Animation, and Drawing & Illustration are accepted for regional awards—Honorable Mention, Silver Key, and Gold Key, —the latter of which provides students a shot towards an American Visions Nomination, and American Voices Nomination, as well as National Medalist awards. 

“You sometimes don’t get awards that you expected to win,” said Heeseo Yoon (’25), winner of a Gold Key in Critical Essay and Honorable Mentions in Personal Essay & Memoir and Science Fiction & Fantasy. “The judging is very inconsistent and spontaneous. I would not be discouraged if a piece doesn’t win because it honestly doesn’t mean that much. It’s the judge’s opinion, and they have certain things they are looking for. I wouldn’t discourage or question myself just because of the different tastes of the judges selected each year. Submit everything you can so you have a better chance of winning.”

Freshman Soeun Lee (’27), who won a Gold Key, a Silver Key, and two Honorable Mentions in Poetry, as well as a Silver Key in Person Essay & Memoir, shared her experience and advice in poetry writing: “Elaborate on what you see and what is the normal thing around you and find something beautiful in it,” she said. “For example, if I got a cup, I would write about the cup and the past behind the cup, and what it went through to become a cup…. Keep an open mind to find what can … be written as poetry.” 

Following is the full list of Tenafly’s 2024 Scholastic Arts and Writing regional winners who listed THS as their affiliated school. On behalf of The Echo and the whole school, congratulations to the winners. 

Writing: 

Ella Bareket 

• “Burning Libraries” 
  • Poetry 
  • Gold Key 
• “An Abundance of Words” 
  • Poetry 
  • Silver Key  
• “You Can’t Take Them From Me” 
  • Personal Essay & Memoir 
  • Honorable Mention 

Anna Buchanan 

• “Seasons” 
  • Poetry 
  • Gold Key 

Anoushka Chakrabarti 

• “My ephemeral brushstrokes” 
  • Poetry 
  • Silver Key 
• “Shattering Silence: The Harsh Reality of Sexual Assault in India” 
  • Critical Essay 
  • Silver Key 
• “The Continuum of Courage: A Third-Generation Armenian Genocide Survivor’s Story” 
  • Journalism 
  • Honorable Mention 

Hannah Choi 

• “Accepting the past, finding a future” 
  • Flash Fiction 
  • Honorable Mention 

Meredith Ho 

• “the moment when…” 
  • Poetry 
  • Honorable Mention 

Ethan Hong 

• “Paper Straws: Satisfactory on Paper, but Inconvenient in Practice” 
  • Critical Essay 
  • Silver Key 

Ryan Jang 

• “Kindling” 
  • Short Story 
  • Silver Key 
• “Little King” 
  • Personal Essay & Memoir 
  • Silver Key 
• “After the End of the Party” 
  • Personal Essay & Memoir 
  • Honorable Mention 

JaeHa Kim 

• “When misery meets ecstasy” 
  • Poetry 
  • Gold Key 

Juhee Kim 

• “Embracing the Unfamiliar” 
  • Personal Essay & Memoir 
  • Honorable Mention 

Rachel Kim 

• “The Mystery Gland: Why Should the Pineal Gland Reach its Potential?” 
  • Critical Essay 
  • Honorable Mention 

Soeun Lee 

• “Ephemeral” 
  • Poetry 
  • Gold Key 
• “The Artist” 
  • Poetry 
  • Silver Key 
• “시s of My Grandmother”
  • Poetry 
  • Honorable Mention 

Seihyun Lee 

• “Cotton Candy” 
  • Poetry 
  • Honorable Mention 

Sehyun Lee 

• “Double Rainbow” 
  • Personal Essay & Memoir 
  • Honorable Mention 

Michelle Lee 

• “Shadows” 
  • Flash Fiction 
  • Honorable Mention 

Aaron Moon 

• “The Kingdoms of Calamity: Insurrections of The Void” 
  • Novel Writing 
  • Honorable Mention 

Lunette Shaw 

• “and neither does the pear” 
  • Poetry 
  • Honorable Mention 

Heeseo Yoon 

• “Off with the Monarchy: Confronting an Antiquated Institution” 
  • Critical Essay 
  • Gold Key 
• “Breaking Free” 
  • Personal Essay & Memoir 
  • Honorable Mention 
• “The Memory” 
  • Science Fiction & Fantasy 
  • Honorable Mention 

Art:

Hongbi Cho

• “Melting Heart”
  • Editorial Cartoon sponsored by The Herb Block Foundation
  • Silver Key  

Zoe Han

• “Driver’s License”
  • Painting
  • Silver Key 

Ian Kim

• “The seeds of the Future”
  • Painting 
  • Gold Key 

Stella Kim

• “Prism”
  • Drawing & Illustration
  • Honorable Mention 

Chloe Lee

• “I Can’t Help It”
  • Mixed Media
  • Silver Key

Seihyun Lee

• “Popcorn Brain”
  • Film & Animation
  • Honorable Mention

Lauren Muller

• “Not Me”
  • Painting
  • Silver Key