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Interlochen Arts Academy students earn National Scholastic Art & Writing Awards

Creative writing, visual arts, and interdisciplinary arts students received 18 awards, including an American Voices Medal and $3,000 in scholarship funds.

The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards logo

Thirteen Interlochen Arts Academy students from three majors won national recognition in the 2021 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.

Creative Writing students Ella Harrigan, Bianca Layog, Amelie Randall, Zoe Reay-Ellers, Maia Siegel, and Alix Sykes earned eight medals in the competition’s writing division. Harrigan, the 2020 Virginia B. Ball Creative Writing Scholarship Competition winner, also won an American Voices Medal, which is awarded to only one student from each region. Harrigan, Randall, and Siegel also received $1,000 scholarships for their Silver Medal with Distinction-winning writing portfolios.

Visual Arts students Abby Amdur, Sophia Bassett, Yuqi Bian, Maria Paula Cubero Navarro, Morgan Novetsky, and Xueer Lily Wang won a total of seven medals. Interdisciplinary Arts student Betty Ling also received two medals in the competition’s visual arts division.

National medal winners have the opportunity to have their work showcased in regional, national, and traveling Art.Write.Now. exhibitions and are eligible to receive a variety of scholarships.

The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards were founded in 1923 to identify and recognize students with exceptional artistic or literary talent. Each year, students from across the nation submit more than 300,000 original works in 28 different categories for consideration to win recognition, scholarships, and exhibition or publication opportunities. The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards are presented by the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers.

2021 Interlochen Arts Academy recipients:

  • Abby Amdur | Visual Arts | Silver Medal
  • Sophia Bassett | Visual Arts | Gold Medal | Silver Medal
  • Yuqi Bian | Visual Arts | Silver Medal
  • Maria Paula Cubero Navarro | Visual Arts | Silver Medal
  • Ella Harrigan | Creative Writing | American Voices Medal | Gold Medal | Silver Medal with Distinction
  • Bianca Denise Layog | Creative Writing | Silver Medal
  • Betty Ling | Interdisciplinary Arts | Gold Medal | Silver Medal
  • Morgan Novetsky | Visual Arts | Gold Medal
  • Amelie Randall | Creative Writing | Silver Medal with Distinction
  • Zoe Reay-Ellers | Creative Writing | Gold Medal
  • Maia Siegel | Creative Writing | Silver Medal with Distinction
  • Alix Sykes | Creative Writing | Gold Medal | Silver Medal
  • Xueer Lily Wang | Visual Arts | Silver Medal