The 2025-2026 National YoungArts Foundation recognized nine students for excellence in their chosen arts disciplines on Nov. 24. The National YoungArts Foundation identifies and supports emerging artists nationwide through awards, mentorship and professional development opportunities, according to its website. The competition is open to students aged 15 to 18 in visual, literary and performing arts disciplines. The foundation awarded each recipient $250. The winners included Eze Baum ’26 and Sabrina Simek ’26 in Film, Colton Checchi ’26 and Manos Vourgourakis ’25 in Jazz, Charlotte Im ’27 in Classical Music, Collin Kim ’27 in Poetry and Samaya Sayana-Manchanda ’26, Edna Dereje ’26 and Hanna Shin ’27 in Photography.
Im said she was grateful to discover her YoungArts results during the break, allowing her to celebrate with her family.
“Getting the results during Thanksgiving Break made the moment more meaningful because I was surrounded by my family and had time to let everything sink in,” Im said. “I’m eternally grateful for how much they’ve supported me throughout my musical journey, especially because it feels like much more of a group effort than most people realize.”
Im said preparing her submission challenged her to move beyond technical precision and shape a performance that reflected her personal voice.
“The Tchaikovsky D Major Violin Concerto was incredibly challenging because it took time to shape the storyline I wanted and stay true to who I am as a musician,” Im said. “Slowing down and making the music my own taught me a lot about developing a sound that represents me rather than just focusing on playing everything correctly.”
Winners who receive Distinction are invited to take part in an intensive weeklong program in Miami at the New World Center. They work with artists in their field through workshops, rehearsals and master classes. Students selected at this level can earn up to $10,000 in awards and are also eligible for nomination to the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program, according to the YoungArts website.
Kim, who is a winner with Distinction, said the moment he found out about his recognition was unexpectedly overwhelming.
“Once [winning] sank in, I felt a rush of joy and validation,” Kim said. “The risks I’ve been taking in my writing felt like they were resonating with people beyond my own understanding of the work.”
Kim said working on his submission for a long time helped him focus on making his poems clearer and easier for readers to connect with.
“This year I challenged myself to prioritize meaning and accessibility, moving away from the abstraction I relied on in the past,” Kim said. “The process taught me how powerful directness can be and how stepping back from overly ornamental language allowed the urgency of each poem to come through.”
Simek said creating her animated film pushed her to confront recordings of her younger self, pushing her to experiment with a new storytelling process that reflects vulnerability.
“I spent a long time piecing together usable dialogue from old home videos and mixing it with my current voice, which made the process both technically difficult and incredibly personal,” Simek said. “Working within those limits ultimately strengthened the film, because it forced me to trust the emotional honesty of the conversation between my past and present self.”
Upper School Visual Arts Teacher Alexandra Pacheco-Garcia said this year’s photography submissions stood out because they were personal and meaningful.
“I worked closely with all three photography students while putting their submissions together, and all of their work dealt with their own life experiences,” Pacheco-Garcia said. “That vulnerability is a real strength that students often don’t realize they have, because everyone has a unique story that is worth telling.”
Sayana-Manchanda said her submission series “Generational Women” focused on her exploration of the emotional connections within the women in her family.
“[Generational Women] has focused on the emotional connection between the generations of women in my life,” Sayana-Manchanda said. “I wanted to explore the emotional distance and closeness between the women in my family, especially my mother, grandmother and myself. This year, I added photos in color representing my generation and the connection I have with girlhood and the color I find in that.”
Sayana-Manchanda said working on her submission made her try something new with her photography.
“Pushing myself to step in front of the camera was the hardest part, and I’ve always used photography to observe others,” Sayana-Manchanda said. “Turning the lens toward myself, setting up the tripod, timer and staging forced me to rethink control. It made me work slower and be more intentional than I used to be.”
Pacheco-Garcia said working closely with students during the YoungArts process was especially rewarding.
“For me, the value isn’t the competition itself, but the opportunity to work one-on-one with students and help them shape their stories,” Pacheco-Garcia said. “It’s a chance to take their work seriously in a way we don’t always have time for in class and to encourage them to see themselves as real artists.”
