EPCHS Art Students Rack Up Gold Key Award, 7 Honorable Mentions

EVERGREEN PARK, IL – Eight students from the art department at Evergreen Park Community High School have been recognized as recipients of the 2025 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards.

In addition to seven students receiving honorable mentions for their artworks across various mediums, EPCHS student Ava Chandler received a “Gold Key” recognition and has had her work, a drawing/illustration titled “Distorted Portrait,” sent to the national level of the competition.

Gold Key works like the one created by Chandler are being judged at the national level in New York City. National medalists will be announced in March.

Evergreen Park students who received honorable mention awards were:

Student Name, Artwork Title, Medium

Nathaniel Novak, 5 Expressions of Rebecca, Digital Art
Alex Francisco, Alex H. Francisco, Painting
Haley Staidl, Beach, Photography
Kara Mullen, Distorted Portrait, Drawing & Illustration
Astro Pentek, Guardian of the Sea, Ceramics & Glass
Marisol Prado, Through Prayer, Photography
Juliana Bosch, What Do You See?, Drawing & Illustration

The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards is a national show presented by the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers and is judged in stages. The above students’ works were reviewed and recognized by a panel of creative professionals and awarded for its outstanding merit in originality, skill, and the emergence of a personal voice and vision.