On to Nationals For Brooks Writer; 3 Others Honored Regionally

Editor's Note: The following is a release from the Valley View School District.

Three students are regional winners and one is headed for national competition in the prestigious Alliance for Young Artists and Writers Scholastic Art and Writing Awards for 2012.

Eighth-grader Elizabeth Escamilla received a “Gold Key” for her personal essay entitled A Relevant Workout qualifying her for nationwide consideration and a possible June trip to Carnegie Hall in New York City.

“I didn’t expect this at all,” said Escamilla, an honor student who wrote about her struggles with depression. “When I got the e-mail, I said to myself, 'No, it’s not real.’ It took me a while to understand it was real.”

Another honor student, eighth-grader Tiffany Prouty, earned a regional “Silver Key” in the short story category for a fiction piece entitled Alone in the Universe, about a young lady who goes through some hard times dealing with her dad’s death and her mom’s alcoholism.

Eighth-graders Geriann Pioquinto and Tyler Vappi received regional honorable mentions, also in the short story category. Both are honor students and members of the Brooks National Junior Honor Society.

Pioquinto’s fictional short story, The Cherry Blossom Tree, tells the story of a heart disease patient and the daughter of another patient. Geriann is also an amazing artist.

Vappi wrote a fictional short story Where the Darkness Lies about a person who wakes up on an average morning to find some dark clouds rolling in that are an evil being from another dimension who is trying to eat the world.

“All four are very dedicated writers. The ideas just bubble out of them,” said Sally Green, their eighth-grade language arts teacher at Brooks. “I admire them. They should be very proud.”

The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, a nonprofit organization, identifies teenagers with exceptional artistic and literary talent and brings their work to a national audience through The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. The Awards have an impressive legacy dating back to 1923 and a noteworthy roster of past winners including Andy Warhol, Sylvia Plath, Truman Capote, Richard Avedo n, Robert Redford and Joyce Carol Oates.

Teens in seventh grade through senior year of high school can apply in 28 categories of art and writing for the chance to earn scholarships and have their works exhibited or published.