March 28, 2022
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) student writers won 26 Gold Key awards in the 2022 Regional Scholastic Writing Awards competition. In all, 137 Gold Key, Silver Key, and Honorable Mentions were earned by FCPS students.
Thanisha Chowdury, a student at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST), was named an American Voices Nominee for her flash fiction, “Heavenbound,” and Trini Rogando, also a student at TJHSST, was named an American Voices Nominee for her personal essay and memoir, “The Effect of First Loves on Religious Decay.”
Winners in the regional competition came from 23 Fairfax County middle and high schools. A complete list of FCPS winners can be found below.
The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, presented by the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers, is the largest, longest-running recognition program of its kind in the United States. Writing categories include critical essay, dramatic script, flash fiction, humor, journalism, novel writing, personal essay and memoir, poetry, science fiction and fantasy, short story, and writing portfolio. More information about the Scholastic Writing Awards is available online(link is external).
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Ethan Hush, Honorable Mention for "The Hunt is On" (Short Story), Annandale High SchoolEunice Choi, Gold Key for "Fantasy Lies" (Personal Essay & Memoir), Chantilly High SchoolEunice Choi, Honorable Mention for "Bathtub" (Flash Fiction), Chantilly High SchoolEunice Choi, Honorable Mention for "An 8 Fl Oz. Bottle of Water" (Short Story), Chantilly High SchoolRachel Lee, Gold Key for "Taking a Stand: How Flaxseed Promises to Combat Poverty’s Dirt Flooring Crisis" (Journalism), Chantilly High SchoolHannah Moghaddar, Honorable Mention for "A Back Road to Happily Ever After: Repercussions of the Media’s Enmity Towards Women of Color" (Critical Essay), Chantilly High SchoolSrija Upadhyay, Gold Key for "Volucrine Verselets" (Poetry), Chantilly High SchoolSrija Upadhyay, Honorable Mention for "of broken birds & beautiful ballerinas" (Poetry), Chantilly High SchoolJason Yoo, Silver Key for "To Be Afraid of Fear" (Personal Essay & Memoir), Chantilly High SchoolNaomi Lee, Honorable Mention for "Pods" (Science Fiction & Fantasy), Cooper Middle SchoolShreya Lele, Honorable Mention for "Stop Asian Hate!" (Poetry), Cooper Middle SchoolShreya Lele, Silver Key for "The Accessory" (Flash Fiction), Cooper Middle SchoolRenee Shi, Honorable Mention for "The Crimson Phoenix" (Novel Writing), Cooper Middle SchoolRenee Shi, Honorable Mention for "Masterpiece" (Short Story), Cooper Middle SchoolRenee Shi, Honorable Mention for "Monster" (Short Story), Cooper Middle SchoolRenee Shi, Silver Key for "Paranoia" (Flash Fiction), Cooper Middle SchoolLeah Hamaker, Silver Key for "Fairbone" (Novel Writing), Fairfax High SchoolLeah Hamaker, Silver Key for "The Haunting of the House" (Science Fiction & Fantasy), Fairfax High SchoolAmy Nam, Honorable Mention for "SUPERMAN vs zombie & My Biggest Bully" (Poetry), Frost Middle SchoolSydney Wong, Honorable Mention for "Undercurrents" (Personal Essay & Memoir), Hayfield Secondary SchoolHana Kolyani, Honorable Mention for "A woman with a parasol" (Poetry), Joyce Kilmer Middle SchoolBianca Blancaflor, Silver Key for "One Time" (Poetry), Lake Braddock Secondary SchoolStephanie Groves, Honorable Mention for "An Ode to Film" (Poetry), Lake Braddock Secondary SchoolStephanie Groves, Silver Key for "The Waiting Field" (Dramatic Script), Lake Braddock Secondary SchoolStephanie Groves, Silver Key for "Romulus and Remus: An Epic Mishap" (Humor), Lake Braddock Secondary SchoolMichelle Wang, 10th grade, National Silver Medal (and Regional Gold Key) for "A'Tai's Storm" (Personal Essay & Memoir), Lake Braddock Secondary SchoolJenna Cai, Gold Key for "Four Glimpses of Grandpa" (Poetry), Langley High SchoolBryan Choe, Honorable Mention for "The Truth About Plant-Based Meat" (Critical Essay), Langley High SchoolTracy Gong, Gold Key for "Username: Crunchy Rabbit" (Short Story), Langley High SchoolTracy Gong, Honorable Mention for "Autumn Leaves" (Short Story), Langley High SchoolSamantha Grayer, Honorable Mention for "Confederate Monuments: Celebrating Anti-American History" (Critical Essay), Langley High SchoolKai Henryson-Gibbs, Honorable Mention for "Fight" (Poetry), Langley High SchoolAndrew Hwang, Honorable Mention for "Which Glitters is Not Always Gold" (Critical Essay), Langley High SchoolAndrew Hwang, Honorable Mention for "Perception" (Personal Essay & Memoir), Langley High SchoolDanna Jia, Honorable Mention for "Are Holidays Necessary?" (Critical Essay), Langley High SchoolAshley Khang, Honorable Mention for "My Name" (Short Story), Langley High SchoolAshley Khang, Silver Key for "The Dual Reality of Water: How Access to Water Mirrors Society" (Journalism), Langley High SchoolSheoli Lele, Honorable Mention for "Does one-size-fits-all apply to Education?" (Personal Essay & Memoir), Langley High SchoolPhoebe Pan, Honorable Mention for "A Letter to Superintendent Scott Brabrand" (Critical Essay), Langley High SchoolPhoebe Pan, Honorable Mention for "Dear Dentist" (Flash Fiction), Langley High SchoolPhoebe Pan, Silver Key for "The Girl Who Carried The Stars" (Flash Fiction), Langley High SchoolKalyna Vickers, Honorable Mention for "To Growth" (Poetry), Langley High SchoolPeyton Walcott, Gold Key for "The Killer Whale: An Economic Solution to Single-Use Plastics" (Critical Essay), Langley High SchoolPeyton Walcott, Honorable Mention for "The Killer Whale: An Economic Solution to Single-Use Plastics" (Critical Essay), Langley High SchoolAliyah Majeed-Hall, Silver Key for "Andromeda" (Short Story), Langley SchoolSeongwoo Ju, Silver Key for "Learning From the Past to Build a Greener Future" (Critical Essay), Longfellow Middle SchoolSandi Schneider, Honorable Mention for "Dear, Whoever This Reaches" (Poetry), Longfellow Middle SchoolSandi Schneider, Honorable Mention for "The Immortal and The Time Traveler" (Poetry), Longfellow Middle SchoolSandi Schneider, Honorable Mention for "Something Isn't Right" (Science Fiction & Fantasy), Longfellow Middle SchoolSandi Schneider, Honorable Mention for "My Swing of Daisies" (Short Story), Longfellow Middle SchoolSandi Schneider, Silver Key for "It Was Never Meant to Be" (Poetry), Longfellow Middle SchoolSandi Schneider, Silver Key for "Hiraeth" (Poetry), Longfellow Middle SchoolSandi Schneider, Silver Key for "The Deer With Horns of Trees" (Poetry), Longfellow Middle SchoolAlicia Yau, Honorable Mention for "Nostalgic Tour" (Science Fiction & Fantasy), Longfellow Middle SchoolJoonwon Lee, Gold Key for "The Scarce Water: Innovative Ways to Quench" (Critical Essay), Luther Jackson Middle SchoolReyna Berry, Honorable Mention for "Make Home" (Flash Fiction), Marshall High SchoolReyna Berry, Honorable Mention for "the rain & other things" (Poetry), Marshall High SchoolReyna Berry, Honorable Mention for "The Sunbearer" (Poetry), Marshall High SchoolJackson Dabich, Silver Key for "We'll Be Right Back" (Flash Fiction), Marshall High SchoolDeborah Kim, Honorable Mention for "How Many Times" (Poetry), Marshall High SchoolDaniel Ahn, Gold Key for "Alien Invasion" (Flash Fiction), McLean High SchoolMackenzie Chen, Honorable Mention for "One Woman Inspires a Wave of Change" (Journalism), McLean High SchoolRose Chen, Silver Key for "The Impact of Sustainable Buildings’ Interior Design" (Critical Essay), McLean High SchoolMarley Derienzo, Gold Key for "Ongoing Plans" (Flash Fiction), McLean High SchoolElisabeth Eick, Honorable Mention for "The Best Laid Plan" (Personal Essay & Memoir), McLean High SchoolElisabeth Eick, Honorable Mention for "Brush Street, Detroit" (Poetry), McLean High SchoolElisabeth Eick, Honorable Mention for "Boredom" (Poetry), McLean High SchoolElisabeth Eick, Silver Key for "Living With It" (Dramatic Script), McLean High SchoolLuke Felix, Honorable Mention for "Fingernails" (Poetry), McLean High SchoolRuna Fujimagari, Honorable Mention for "An Icy Depth" (Science Fiction & Fantasy), McLean High SchoolMinsong Ha, Gold Key for "Kyrie Irving on the Courts of Basketball and the Internet" (Critical Essay), McLean High SchoolYeonsu Ju, Silver Key for "Transmissible Viral Vaccine to Alleviate the Economic Damages Caused by Zoonotic Diseases" (Critical Essay), McLean High SchoolSigrid Kim, Honorable Mention for "Home" (Poetry), McLean High SchoolYoungjae Kim, Gold Key for "Russia’s 2014 Conquest of Crimea: A Canary in a Coal Mine or the End of an Era?" (Critical Essay), McLean High SchoolTaylor Konditi, Silver Key for "----Children of Ichor." (Poetry), McLean High SchoolJennifer Li, Gold Key for "Face" (Flash Fiction), McLean High SchoolJennifer Li, Gold Key for "ABC" (Personal Essay & Memoir), McLean High SchoolSherry Li, Silver Key for "A Garden" (Personal Essay & Memoir), McLean High SchoolZhiyi Li, Gold Key for "An Invisible Message: Behind Cultural Media Censorship and Democratization" (Critical Essay), McLean High SchoolEllen Pan, Gold Key for "Forget Me, Forget Me Not" (Short Story), McLean High SchoolEllen Pan, Honorable Mention for "If Only in a Dream" (Personal Essay & Memoir), McLean High SchoolEllen Pan, Silver Key for "S is for Smile" (Personal Essay & Memoir), McLean High SchoolSophia Pandit, Silver Key for "Destruction in Six Forms" (Poetry), McLean High SchoolEmily Reisman, Silver Key for "Broken Hands on a Clock" (Poetry), McLean High SchoolVachel Thevenot, Silver Key for "Infernal Eidolons - Furnace" (Short Story), McLean High SchoolDoris Zhang, Honorable Mention for "Welcome Back" (Short Story), McLean High SchoolMegan Zhang, Honorable Mention for "Today, The Sun Has Framed You Into Poetry" (Poetry), McLean High SchoolOlivia Zhang, Gold Key) for "The Grief Exam" (Personal Essay & Memoir), McLean High SchoolAileen Zhao, Gold Key for "The Genesis" (Poetry), McLean High SchoolAileen Zhao, Gold Key for "Eden: A Game About Choices" (Short Story), McLean High SchoolAileen Zhao, Honorable Mention for "Three for a Friend" (Poetry), McLean High SchoolAileen Zhao, Silver Key for "Funeral Games for the Horse Breaker" (Poetry), McLean High SchoolAileen Zhao, Silver Key for "The Poltergeists" (Science Fiction & Fantasy), McLean High SchoolJiayin Zou, Gold Key for "Calm Down" (Personal Essay & Memoir), McLean High SchoolJiayin Zou, Honorable Mention for "Monsters" (Short Story), McLean High SchoolEric Chen, Gold Key for "Ending Modern Slavery by Targeting Enabling Environments and Treating the Vulnerabilities in Victims" (Critical Essay), Oakton High SchoolAnna Cheng, Silver Key for "Downward Discovery" (Personal Essay & Memoir), Oakton High SchoolNicole Deng, Honorable Mention for "the solitude of the four seasons" (Poetry), Oakton High SchoolNicole Deng, Silver Key for "The View of Chengdu, China" (Personal Essay & Memoir), Oakton High SchoolTina Gao, Honorable Mention for "The Gender Wage Gap and Its Persistence in American Society" (Critical Essay), Oakton High SchoolChloe Lee, Gold Key for "Hope to Restart" (Poetry), Oakton High SchoolChloe Lee, Honorable Mention for "Generation 1.5" (Poetry), Oakton High SchoolChloe Lee, Silver Key for "All American Korean" (Personal Essay & Memoir), Oakton High SchoolChloe Lee, Silver Key for "To Coexist" (Poetry), Oakton High SchoolCindy Li, Honorable Mention for "Sweet Bubble Tea" (Personal Essay & Memoir), Oakton High SchoolElsa Li, Silver Key for "Let it Go" (Personal Essay & Memoir), Oakton High SchoolLena Song, Honorable Mention for "The Plastic Water Bottle" (Poetry), Oakton High SchoolLena Song, Honorable Mention for "Grief, Growth, and Hope" (Poetry), Oakton High SchoolOliver Williams, Honorable Mention for "Darkness" (Poetry), Oakton High SchoolAaron Chen, Gold Key for "The Heart of Time" (Science Fiction & Fantasy), Rachel Carson Middle schoolIsaac Park, Honorable Mention for "Under the Leaf" (Short Story), Rachel Carson Middle schoolMichelle Dinh, Honorable Mention for "Forgotten Records" (Novel Writing), Robinson Secondary SchoolElla Hartman, Honorable Mention for "All My Fault" (Flash Fiction), Rocky Run Middle SchoolSophia Baum, Honorable Mention for "Spirit's Due Time" (Short Story), South County High SchoolAeryn Dahm, Honorable Mention for "Elisabeth Linden and the Crying Tree" (Science Fiction & Fantasy), South County High SchoolAurelia Klunder, Honorable Mention for "Mooma" (Personal Essay & Memoir), South County High SchoolHannah Elysse Mayo, Honorable Mention for "The Right Thing to Do" (Short Story), South County High SchoolYohana Tesfaye, Honorable Mention for "The Girl with the Flower-Petal Eyelashes" (Short Story), South County High SchoolCameron Cates, Honorable Mention for "I Cut My Hair the Way I Wanted" (Poetry), South Lakes High SchoolMaxine Prudhomme, Silver Key for "Transcorporeal" (Poetry), South Lakes High SchoolLeah Abraham, Honorable Mention for "Grocery Store" (Flash Fiction), West Springfield High SchoolBen Bradfield, Honorable Mention for "One Word" (Poetry), West Springfield High SchoolEunice Choe, Honorable Mention for "Powerful Mauma Kea" (Short Story), West Springfield High SchoolOlivia Gondek, Silver Key for "Mother's Pearls" (Flash Fiction), West Springfield High SchoolGrace Kang, Honorable Mention for "As The Poets Say" (Poetry), West Springfield High SchoolJiitu Kuffa, Honorable Mention for "The Fall of Dahlia" (Short Story), West Springfield High SchoolNour Mokbel, Honorable Mention for "Bottom of the Bag" (Personal Essay & Memoir), West Springfield High SchoolNour Mokbel, Silver Key for "The Late Bus" (Short Story), West Springfield High SchoolDennis Ngo, Honorable Mention for "Smile" (Personal Essay & Memoir), West Springfield High SchoolHannah Kang, Gold Key for "Pass Me My Ladder" (Poetry), Westfield High SchoolMiriam Fabrycky, Honorable Mention for "Pain d'Épice" (Short Story), Woodson High SchoolSrivaishnavi Kommireddy, Honorable Mention for "Perfectly Imperfect World" (Short Story), Woodson High SchoolZainab Rentia, Honorable Mention for "Changing Relationships" (Personal Essay & Memoir), Woodson High SchoolZainab Rentia, Honorable Mention for "Stuck in the Past" (Personal Essay & Memoir), Woodson High SchoolYilin Tan, Gold Key for "Chairman Mao at My Dinner Table" (Personal Essay & Memoir), Woodson High SchoolYilin Tan, Honorable Mention for "In Regards to Music" (Poetry), Woodson High School.
This press release was produced by Fairfax County Public Schools. The views expressed here are the author’s own.
