The Alliance for Young Artists and Writers awarded Gold Keys to seven seniors through the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. Six Gold Keys were awarded to four students for writing, and three senior girls won for art and photography.

Esther Zuckerman ’08 received her Gold Key for a nonfiction portfolio she submitted.
“I’m really excited,” Zuckerman said. “It’s really nice to have my work appreciated this way, especially my non-fiction portfolio, which I was really proud of.”
 
Charlie Green ’08 received three Gold Keys; one for a work entitled “Dead Trees” in the personal essay/memoir category, one for a general writing portfolio he submitted and another for poems called “Quitting” and “Past Thickets and Forests.”

“I’m thrilled to be recognized with three Gold Keys,” Green said. “I’m probably most excited about being chosen for my Senior Portfolio.”

Melissa Saphier ’08 received a Gold Key for a collection of poetry she submitted. Rebecca Title ’08 was awarded her Gold Key for a dramatic script she submitted entitled “Tide Roll Away.”

Rebecca Gotlieb ’08, Lauren Moldonado ’08 and Tiffanie Young ’08 won for their photographic portfolio, painting and drawing, respectively. Maldonado won for her painting, “Crisscross,” which was part of her AP Studio Art concentration on a social commentary about Los Angeles.

Gotlieb created her photographic portfolio in visual arts teacher Kevin O’Malley’s Advanced Photography III class. By photographing a series of increasingly life-like dolls, Gotlieb said she tried to focus on the question of where to draw the line between artificiality and reality.

Gotlieb has never won any awards for photography before, and she found out she was a winner from O’Malley.

“He came up to me outside my science classroom and said, ‘Guess what? You won a Gold Key!’” Gotlieb said.

Young won for her charcoal drawing “Seated Cyclist.” Young is in art teacher Marianne Hall’s Drawing and Painting III class, but she drew it outside of school. Young had submitted to the contest before without any results, so this “came as such a surprise.”

“I hugged Ms. Hall,” Young said. “I was so excited.”

Students and teachers will be notified in April if any National Awards are later earned. At the national level, participants are considered for national exhibition and publication opportunities and also become eligible for scholarships.