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2021 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards Announced

2021 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards Announced
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

Drawing of a succulent

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

Award winning art from student

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

Man getting duck into a pool

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

Oil painting of two girls in ocean

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

Painting of girl smiling

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

Burry image of two girls on road

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