Arts Academy students excel in the 2023 national Scholastic Art & Writing Awards
Twelve Arts Academy students received a total of 17 awards—including several top prizes—in the 100th year of the nation’s longest running and most prestigious award program for young creatives.
Twelve Interlochen Arts Academy students from three majors are among the 100th annual class of national medalists in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.
More than 100,000 students from the United States and Canada submitted more than 300,000 works of art and writing to the 2023 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards—a 15% increase in participation over the 2022 competition. Nearly 2,000 works were selected to receive national recognition.
The Arts Academy honorees took home a total of 17 awards, including seven Silver Medals, one Silver Medal with Distinction, seven Gold Medals, an American Visions Medal, and an American Voices Medal.
Creative Writing students David Armstrong, Abigail Conklin, Greer Engle-Roe, Annalise Harter, Elizabeth Keller, Emily Pickering, and Isabella Rotker earned a combined total of 11 awards.
Keller was also one of just 16 students selected from among more than 7,000 entrants to receive the Gold Medal Portfolio Award. The competition’s highest honor, the Gold Medal Portfolio Award includes a $12,500 scholarship and a $1,000 prize for the student’s educator. Fellow creative writer Annalise Harter received a Silver Medal with Distinction for her portfolio, which includes a $2,000 scholarship and a $250 educator award.
Interdisciplinary Arts major Olivia Babovic received an American Voices Medal. The American Voices Medal is awarded to one nominee from each of the competition’s 172 regions. National jurors select each region’s finest written work to receive the award.
Visual Arts students Campbell Cronk, Daria Nagrebelna, Cindy Wang, and Maisie Ward combined for five total awards. Cronk received the West Michigan region’s American Visions Award, which is presented to the best work of visual arts from the region.
Founded in 1923, the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards is the nation’s longest running and most prestigious award program for writers and visual artists in grades 7-12. The awards, which are presented by the Alliance & Young Artists and Writers, celebrate and support teenage creatives through scholarship programs, workshops, and exhibition opportunities.
2023 Award Recipients
- David Armstrong - Gold Medal
- Olivia Babovic - American Voices Medal
- Abigail Conklin - Silver Medal
- Campbell Cronk - American Visions Medal
- Greer Engle-Roe - Silver Medal
- Annalise Harter - Silver Medal, Silver Medal with Distinction
- Elizabeth Keller - Silver Medal, Gold Medal, Gold Medal Portfolio
- Daria Nagrebelna - Silver Medal, Gold Medal
- Emily Pickering - Gold Medal
- Isabella Rotker - Silver Medal, Gold Medal
- Cindy Wang - Gold Medal
- Maisie Ward - Silver Medal
