2009 Scholastic Art & Writing Award Recipients recognized in Washington, D.C.

On a drizzly Washington D.C. morning, about 100 students, parents, teachers, principals, and education professionals gathered at the Department of Education's Lyndon Baines Johnson Building to attend a ribbon cutting for the artwork that will hang there and at the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities.
The weather did not damper the spirits of those gathered--for the quality of the work on display, the thrill of meeting young artists from across the country, the excitement of hanging on such hallowed walls. Some of the attendees were visiting D.C. for the very first time; some were attending schools a cab ride away.

The 80 or so pieces were selected from the 2009 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Gold, Silver and American Visions Medal-winning works.
All of the speakers--Tony Miller, Deputy Secretary of Education; Kalpen Modi, Associate Director from the White House Office of Public Liaison; Rachel Goslins, Executive Director of the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities; Virginia McEnerney, Executive Director of the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers; Wilmer Wilson, former Scholastic Art and Writing Portfolio Gold Award Winner; and Tony Award-winning playwright/musician Stew--spoke directly to the students and encouraged them to continue to trust in the value of creativity.
It was very uplifting, and--regardless of your relation to the students whose art was going on display--you were bound to leave encouraged to return to your pencils, pens, or paint.

Below, find a list of the students whose art will be on display:

The Department of Education, Lyndon Baines Johnson Building

Katie Barron
Sarah Bender
Christine Biles
Jake Borelli
William Brown
Devan Browne
Tim Carroll
Brittany Chavez
Shelby Christenson
Tyler Cline
Kristen Cook
Erin Cox
Marissa Dearing
Nathan Doherty
Brittany Fay
Jennifer Frisco
Gero Gaba
Laura Garland
Alex Goss
Jordan Hauser
Laura Herron
Lesley Jackson
Alyssa Kennamer
Esther Kim
Eileen Klaiklung
Hyun Sue Kwon
Michael Lo
Courtney Loose
Amanda Maduri
Mary Maloczewski
Wendy Marcero
Alina McPherson
Kim Migyn
Taylor Moody
Chunbum Park
Andrea Piekarczyk
Alexandra Sandlin
Tanner Smith
Jacob Sooter
Daye Sung
Haley Thibodeau
Brittany Trimble
Yunhan Xu
Mia Zhang

President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities

Christine Batson
Dylan Bean
John Bevier
Joshua Burke
Yunsang Cho
Kristen Colesanti
Celeste Cordova
Reese Craft
Matthew Davis
Matthew Dohm
Chris Gibson
Ryan Harding
Lindsay Johnson
Lamvy Le
Michael Lombardo
Madison Moore
Cassandra Nguyen
Madeline Pace
Margaret Rose
Kathryn Ryan
Natasha Sadikin
Derek Schell
Deondra Scott
Margarita Seroshtan
Anna Shimshak
Sophia Sweeney
Michi Tamashiro
Lee Thao
Chelsea Thoman
Ryan Tinsley
Ava Ambrose Tomasula Y Garcia
Samantha Travarca
Ian Trupin
Nicole Wageck
Bailey Washburn
Alexis White
Krystal Wilson
Emilee Wooten
Kurt Zhuang

This is an extremely high honor, a testament to the importance of arts in American education. Congratulations!!!