Sister Patricia McCarron, SSND, Ph.D., headmistress of Notre Dame Preparatory School, announced on February 2 that 15 NDP students have earned regional recognition for this year’s Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, some taking home multiple honors. All told, NDP students earned a total of 23 awards in creative writing and fine arts categories.
“Congratulations to these stellar artists and writers, whose creativity and quality of expression have earned outstanding recognition,” says Sister Patricia. “Deep appreciation is also given to the outstanding teachers who have guided these students through both this competition and the educational journey which has allowed them to discover new interests and hone God-given talents. ”
Of note, five students achieved the highest honor or “Gold Key,” thereby making them eligible for the national recognition component of the competition and accompanying scholarship dollars if selected.
- Brooke Johnston ’24, poetry
- Maeve McCarron ’23, painting
- BiancaRose Nnabue ’26, poetry; also, (2) Honorable Mentions in drawing and illustration
- Emerson Ross ’26, poetry
- Aubree Zabkowski ’26, flash fiction
Other competition winners include:
- Harper Bowen ’26, flash fiction, Honorable Mention
- Lauren DeCourcey ’22
- photography, Honorable Mention
- writing portfolio, Honorable Mention - Brooke Mackley ‘23
- short story, Silver Key
- poetry, Silver Key - Summer Nelson ’23, poetry, Silver Key
- Reagan Riemer ’24, photography, Honorable Mention
- Casey Rolfes ’22, digital art, Honorable Mention
- Mia Saxon ‘26
- (2) flash fiction awards, both Silver Key
- flash fiction, Honorable Mention
- (2) two poetry awards, both Honorable Mention - Claire Strain ’26, flash fiction, Honorable Mention
- Mackenzie Ward ’26, poetry, Silver Key
- Catherine White ’26, poetry, Honorable Mention
Sponsored by the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards is the nation’s longest-running, most prestigious recognition program for creative teens in grades 7-12 in the nation. The NDP winners are among 1,300 teens from Baltimore and the surrounding region who submitted 3,000 works of visual and literary art. All works were blindly judged by local visual artists, novelists, poets, playwrights, educators, and editors. Each piece is judged based on originality, technical skill, and the emergence of a personal voice.
NDP faculty in both the Art and English departments have been encouraging students to submit works to the contest for several years. “The contest gives [the students] a concrete way to share their talents and put themselves out there,” says NDP Middle Level English Teacher Erin McNamara. “In writing and art, we strive to help the girls develop their own voices through pen and paint, and this contest encourages and allows them to share those voices with the world.”
