2021 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards Announced
“Her toes touch up against the thick, white spray paint line on the grass. A line between the controllable and uncontrollable. She squints at the starter as he holds his gun and his free hand in the air. Even the sky seems to hold its breath for that split second. Then just as quickly as it came, the moment is gone. The starter’s arm is dropping and the crack of the gun reaches the ears of each runner simultaneously. Her heart jumps with a jolt of adrenaline, and her toes leap across that bold white line.”
— Bella ‘23, “A Quiet Mind,” Gold Key for Personal Narrative
Allie Cunningham, “Leaf Me Be,” Gold Key
From the pensiveness of a portrait to the imagery conveyed in a poem, the creative works of our students capture life through unique and powerful artistic expression. Each year, Harpeth Hall students submit original works to the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards competition, which for nearly a century has “inspired bold ideas in creative teens” throughout the country. This year, over 70 Harpeth Hall students earned recognition in the regional awards.
A showcase of drawing, painting, poetry, short stories, and more, the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards competition started in 1923 and offers students in grades 7-12 (ages 13 and up) a chance to submit an unlimited number of creative works for judging at the regional and national levels. Notable winners in the contest’s history include author Sylvia Plath, director Ken Burns, sculptor Luis Jiménez, actress Lena Dunham, and poet Amanda Gorman.
In the art category, participants can choose from a variety of categories, with a portfolio option available to graduating seniors. These categories include comic art, film & animation, painting, photography, and many other creative mediums. In writing, participants can choose from categories ranging from creative nonfiction in critical essays and journalism pieces, to short story and novel writing, which supply an outlet for works of fiction. While each category has a word count restriction, there are no content requirements past making sure each piece is in its appropriate category.
We are very proud of our writers and artists who created and submitted their personal works. From beautifully detailed still life drawings, to humorous short stories, to comprehensive critical essays the art and writing of our students not only examined the world around them during a year unlike any other, but also their place in that world. Congratulations!
View the Scholastic Writing Awards Slideshow
View the Scholastic Art Awards Slideshow
2021 Harpeth Hall Scholastic Writing Award Winners
Caroline Johnson, “Cling,” Gold Key
Middle School
Cailin Rork
Gold Key for "Ice-Skating Rink,” Poetry
Silver Key for "City in Shadow,” Poetry
Jori Winfrey
Silver Key for "Exceptions to the Rules," Poetry
Helena Harris
Silver Key for "The Power of Tears," Science Fiction & Fantasy
Sophie O'Keefe
Silver Key for "The Worst Day Ever,” Short Story
Meronica Forrester-Kent
Silver Key for "Scarlett Wood," Dramatic Script
“A young lady skates, living in the present,
and although some things have changed
some really haven’t.
She twirls around in loose pants
and a fitted top and she starts to dance.”
— Cailin ‘25, "Ice-Skating Rink,” Gold Key for Poetry
Upper School
Julia Allos
Silver Key for "In the Name of the Father and the Son: Christ-like Behavior Among So-Called Pagans Versus So-Called Christians,” Critical Essay
Silver Key for "Searching Justice for All,” Critical Essay
Isabelle Arnold
Silver Key for “Beneath the Streets,” Poetry
Silver Key for “Window Pain,” Poetry
Pauline Bailey
Gold Key for “Lost in a Sea of Subconsciousness,” Short Story
Silver Key for “Brain on Fire,” Poetry
Angie Baird
Gold Key for “Sky Blue,” Flash Fiction
Ramsey Bottorff
Silver Key for “Autopsy in Two Acts I-II,” Poetry
Silver Key for “Letter Unsent/Dear Samuel,” Poetry
Silver Key for “Merry Christmas,” Poetry
Pauline Bailey, “The Anarchy of Ducks,” Gold Key
Janet Briggs
Silver Key for “Equal under Law: Comparing Human Rights Violations in North Korea and China and International Response,” Critical Essay
Silver Key for “Suffrage to Schoolhouse: The Connection between American Enfranchisement and Education,” Critical Essay
Silver Key for “The New Green Thumb: Environmental and Social Benefits of Sustainable Agriculture,” Critical Essay
Ava Cassidy
Silver Key for “Red Skies, Blue Tarps, Black Swan,” Poetry
Sarah Jean Caver
Silver Key for “A Period of Solitude,” Poetry
Priyanka Chiguluri
Gold Key for “Red, White, Black, and Blue,” Poetry
Gold Key for “Sunflower,” Poetry
Silver Key for “Stars,” Flash Fiction
Silver Key for “Sugar Plum Fairies,” Poetry
Eva Christopher
Silver Key for “Martha,” Flash Fiction
Miller Clark
Gold Key for “fall,” Poetry
Silver Key for “Maybe We’re All Wrong: A Rumination on “The ‘Other Side’ Is Not Dumb,” Critical Essay
Silver Key for “My Name,” Poetry
Sarah Cook
Gold Key for “Save the Soil, Save the World: The Case for Sustainable Farming,” Critical Essay
Silver Key for “The Inevitability of Conservatism: How Postwar America Fostered Political Realignment,” Critical Essay
Piper Dahir
Silver Key for “Josephine Baker: Madone Noir,” Poetry
Scout Dahir
Silver Key for “Dissenter of Man's Law, Accept the Universe,” Poetry
Shaffer Dale
Gold Key for “Water Scarcity in a Global Pandemic,” Journalism
Maddy Corts, "Girls in Water," Honorable Mention
Rosemary Frederiksen
Silver Key for “Bring to Light the American Darkness,” Poetry
Silver Key for “Cleopatra,” Poetry
Silver Key for “Growing Up Too Fast,” Poetry
Silver Key for “The Lifetime of a Word,” Poetry
Silver Key for “Yin,” Poetry
Hallie G.
Gold Key for “Classy Collins,” Critical Essay
Silver Key for “Middle Tennessee Libraries Adapt to Coronavirus Restrictions,” Journalism
Bella Guillamondegui
Gold Key for “A Quiet Mind,” Short Story
Katalina Guma
Silver Key for “Unloaded,” Short Story
Julia Hermann
Silver Key for “Room 407,” Short Story
Riley Kate Higgins
Silver Key for “Judgement,” Poetry
Rachel Hinchey
Gold Key for “Dust in the Wind,” Short Story
Katherine Hu
Silver Key for “New Couch,” Poetry
Camille Hu
Silver Key for “The System was Never Broken, it was Built This Way: Social Control and Discrimination in Contemporary America,” Critical Essay
Sarah Lillard
Silver Key for “Do You Ever Look Upon the Mountains,” Poetry
Silver Key for “The Nashville Tornados,” Poetry
Cori Magsby
Silver Key for “Oh, to be a citizen on stolen land,” Poetry
Sydney Mattoon
Silver Key for “A Truncated Goodbye,” Personal Essay & Memoir
Kate Miller
Silver Key for “A Balancing of Extremes,” Critical Essay
Zoe Miles, "Ignorance is Bliss," Silver Key
Christiane Morton
Silver Key for “Blurry, Briny, Blue,” Poetry
Taylor Nisbet
Gold Key for “La Lupe,” Poetry
Silver Key for “Pride,” Poetry
Brenna Paisley
Silver Key for “A Meal To Remember,” Science Fiction & Fantasy
Veronica Pierce
Silver Key for “Happy Days,” Poetry
Sabrina Russell
Silver Key for “‘I’ll Have Them All in Cages’: Did the Human Psyche Create the New Jim Crow?,” Critical Essay
Gold Key for “Caesar,” Poetry
Caroline Seehorn
Gold Key for “Love Despite Pain in Purple Hibiscus,” Critical Essay
Ava Sjursen
Silver Key for “The Difference Between Erasing a Pageant and a President,” Journalism
Larissa Smith
Silver Key for “Crowning Flames,” Poetry
Silver Key for “The Stories of Old,” Poetry
Libby Tarantin
Silver Key for “A Lose-Lose Situation: Conforming to Convention in the 19th and 20th Centuries,” Critical Essay
Jadyn Turbeville
Silver Key for "A Hero's Journey to the Loony Bin,” Short Story
Silver Key for "Collection of Poems,” Poetry
Alexis Turner
Gold Key for “Pressure Cooker,” Poetry
Gretchen Walsh
Gold Key for “Equality in Sport Inclusion: Female Intersex and Transgender Athletes,” Critical Essay
Gigi Williams
Silver Key for "MOMMY and the FREEDOM RIDES," Poetry
Lynleigh Young
Silver Key for "From Living Large to Living Tiny: How the Tiny House Movement Is Providing Solutions to Both Social and Environmental Problems,” Critical Essay
Lucy Callen, "Under the Strawberry Sun," Silver Key
Mary Young
Silver Key for "Are You Drinking Fertilizer?: The Effects of Agricultural Runoff on Water Pollution,” Critical Essay
Liz Allen
Silver Key for "How Did the 2008 Financial Crisis Happen," Critical Essay
Isabella Baldwin
Gold Key, "Stuck Between the Windowpanes," poetry
Silver Key, "It's Spring and my Neighbor's Car is Out," poetry
Silver Key, "The Gambler's Pocket," poetry
Silver Key, "On the Eighth Day, God Blessed the Blind," poetry
Silver Key, "Invisible Wonders in the Place I Call Home," Personal Essay & Memoir
Silver Key, "Have You Ever Been to a Pool Party?," poetry
Silver Key, "Pride, Prejudice, and Pessimism," Critical Essay
Silver Key, "The Obligatory Relationship," Critical Essay
Geneva Bass
Silver Key, "Man Beneath the Sun," Flash Fiction
Silver Key, "Young Boys on Park Benches," flash fiction
Silver Key, "Their words were snow," poetry
Conway Bettis
Gold Key, "Cold Feet," poetry
Silver Key, "The Waltz: A Haibun," poetry
Silvery Key, "In the Midst of Grace," poetry
Silvery Key, "A Shoelace to a Barefoot Angel," poetry
Silver Key, "Ode to a Cloud," poetry
Zoe Burnett
Silver Key, "Changes," poetry
Silver Key, "Is the Coal Industry Capable of Protecting the Environment?" Critical Essay
Silver Key, "Leading with Love," personal essay & memoir
Silver Key, "Busing to End Desegregation in America: Success or Failure?" Critical Essay
Quinlan Cyr
Silver Key, "The Influence of Birth Control on American..." Critical Essay
Olivia Hande
Silver Key, "Meryl Streep," poetry
Ella Kinman
Silver Key, "What Does It Take to Escape Poverty?" Critical Essay
Zoe Miles
Silver Key, "A Paint Swatch Life," poetry
Gold Key, "You Say You Want a Deathbed Scene," poetry
Amelia Reddy
Gold Key, My Papa's Journey, novel writing
Silver Key, "The Story of a Guilty Man," short story
Macy Richards
Silver Key, "Can you hear them?" poetry
Silver Key, "Revelations about Relationships," personal essay & memoir
Silver Key, "A Discrepancy Evolving," personal essay & memoir
Silver Key, "Goodbye, Wonderment," poetry
Anne-Louis Todd
Silver Key, "Malibu Nights," poetry
Honorable Mentions
Liz Allen (Three Honorable Mentions)
Julia Allos
Isabelle Arnold
Geneva Bass
Ramsey Bottorff (Two Honorable Mentions)
Elizabeth Brown
Virginia Callen
Priyanka Chiguluri
Miller Clark (Three Honorable Mentions)
Quinlan Cyr (Two Honorable Mentions)
Evelyn Daniel
Isabella Davé
Mallory Egly
Sofia Folk
Rosemary Frederiksen
Olivia Hande
Brantley Holladay
Katherine Hu
Elise Ikejiani
Belle Mason
Zoe Miles
Elisabeth Nelson
Taylor Nisbet
Macy Richards (Two Honorable Mentions)
Ava Sjursen
Anne-Louis Todd (Two Honorable Mentions)
“A light blue, like the color of the sky, but only the color one would use when painting the sky, not the color of the sky itself. A fake sky blue for a fake blue sky. "
— Angie ‘21, “Sky Blue,” Gold Key for Flash Fiction
2021 Harpeth Hall Scholastic Art Award Winners
Sarah Braam “A Shadow of Doubt,” Gold Key
Pauline Bailey
Gold Key for “The Anarchy of Ducks,” Photography
Silver Key for “Juicy Red Tomatoes,” Drawing and Illustration
Ellie Bowles
Silver Key for “Simple Times,” Mixed Media
Sarah Braam
Gold Key for “A Shadow of Doubt,” Photography
Lucy Callen
Silver Key for “Under the Strawberry Sun,” Painting
Allie Cunningham
Gold Key for “Leaf Me Be,” Drawing and Illustration
Caroline Johnson
Gold Key for “Cling,” Drawing and Illustration
Gold Key for “Chinatown,” Painting
Zoe Miles
Silver Key for “Ignorance is Bliss,” Mixed Media
Taylor Nisbet
Silver Key for “Pensive,” Painting
Amelia Reddy
Gold Key for “The Great Divide,” Photography
Holly Powell, "All Ears," Honorable Mention
Honorable Mentions:
Myla Anglin
Pauline Bailey
Madi Chandler
Maddy Corts
Allie Cunningham (Two Honorable Mentions)
Evelyn Daniel
Zoe Miles
Abby Moschel
Taylor Nisbet
Holly Powell
Elisabeth Silvester
Ava Sohr
Ashley Tirrill
Nora Wang
Gigi Williams (Two Honorable Mentions)
Abby James Witherspoon