The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards recently recognized numerous students at Charlotte Latin School for their achievements in writing: in the Region-at-Large East Scholastic Writing Awards, work by Latin students in the eighth grade through 12th grade earned 10 Gold Keys, 12 Silver Keys, and 30 Honorable Mentions. 

“We help students find their personal voice and say something new,” said English teacher and Creative Writing Club sponsor Richard Harris. “And because we teach great works of literature, our students have models of the type of writing they ultimately want to do.”

The Scholastic Writing Awards, founded in 1923, is the longest-running and most revered writing competition for teenagers in the United States. Previous winners include literary luminaries such as Langston Hughes, Nikki Giovanni, and Stephen King.

Charlotte Latin School students won awards in a variety of categories, including critical essay; personal essay and memoir; flash fiction; and poetry. (Student writing is judged by Scholastic on the basis of originality, skill, personal vision and voice.) Only the top percent of entries earn awards; winners of Gold Keys move on to compete in the Scholastic national competition later this spring.

“Having a goal to shoot for helps students prioritize writing,” Harris commented, explaining the value of participating in the competition. While some students receive formal recognition, he noted, “There’s an immediate reward in the process of sharing with others.” 

He lauded the students (some of whom won more than one prize, sometimes in multiple categories), the teachers who cultivate their talents, and the community of writers that Charlotte Latin yields.

The following Latin students won Gold Keys: Lilly Berkovich ’27, Jenna Chebaro ’27, Ramona Cigler ’26, Henry Graham ’27, Sia Gullapalli ’27, John Gray Norris ’29, Claire Siever ’28, Angelina Yang ’26 (twice), and Isabel Yang ’26.

Scholastic awarded Silver Keys to Erik Anglemyer ’27, Kingsley Hall ’27, Conard Hull ’27, Sahana Mahesh ’27, Elsa Meyer ’30, Jackie Rao ’26 (twice), Austin Redmond ’27, Jack Rook ’27, Julia Stinson ’27, Isabel Yang, and Lynn Zhao ’26.

Receiving Honorable Mention were Henry Alt ’27, Ramona Cigler, Connor Cruz ’26, Sia Gullapalli, Oliver Heinzerling ’28, Henry Holland ’26, Ava Khouri ’27, Deborah Lopes ’27, Graceyn Levesque ’27, Ayden Mark ’27, Ava Nadeau ’27, Liam Phelps ’28, Alyssa Ryzhikova ’28, Peyton Samii ’26, Claire Siever, Ben Spiegler ’26, Asher Tallent ’27, David Vaughn ’26 (twice), Graham Wagner ’27, Angelina Yang, Isabel Yang (three times), Samuel Yin ’27, and Lynn Zhao (five times).