Dozens of Cambridge high school students received regional and national recognition in this year’s Scholastic Art and Writing Awards cycle. In all, 45 students from Cambridge Rindge and Latin School (CRLS) were recognized at the state level, nine of whom went on to take home national awards.
Scholastic awards are given annually to students 13 and older across the United States for their artistic and written work. In 2025, nearly 110,000 students submitted 310,000 original works across 28 categories, such as Drawing and Ceramics & Glass in the art category or Critical Essay and Flash Fiction in the writing category.
The 45 CRLS students who won regionally received a total of 108 awards, because students submit multiple works to multiple categories. That allows for “a lot of winners,” feeding the organization’s mission to “encourage students in art,” said Maureen Meyer, who manages the regional Scholastic Awards for Massachusetts. Even so, the awards remain selective, Meyer said, noting there were 8,469 regional entries in 18 individual categories last year.
At the regional level, a Gold Key is the highest distinction, and students can also earn a Silver Key or an honorable mention. “It’s expected that roughly five to seven percent [of participants] would receive gold keys, seven to 10 percent would get silver keys, and 10 to 12 would get honorable mentions,” Meyer said about the percentage-based judging system used at the regional level.
Those who win a Gold Key at the state level automatically go on to compete at the national level, where winners receive either a Gold or Silver Medal, portfolio-specific awards, or special scholarships.
While students submit their own work, CRLS art teacher Melissa Chaney said she often nudges students to participate. Winning such selective awards gives students a “sense of pride,” Chaney added, who herself submitted to the awards when she was a high school student. Chaney said the awards made a “real difference” for her during a time when careers in art were less encouraged.
Meyer, who worked as an art educator before accepting her role with the Scholastic Awards, said when her students saw other featured works at the award ceremonies, they would realize “that they could push themselves further than they were” creatively.
Some scholastic work is directly from class assignments, when students work closely with their teachers to better their pieces. Other work may be from a summer program, or a piece completed during their free time.
For example, CRLS senior Hazel Koschwanez received regional recognition for nine different works last year, some from an out-of-school art expedition she did during her junior year, and some from Chaney’s class.
Koschwanez, whose Instagram tag is @hazel_k_art, won a Silver Key for “Merging,” a drawing featuring two identical faces blending into one another. She completed the work in Chaney’s AP art class, where students are tasked with developing an inquiry to explore throughout the semester. “Merging” is a part of Koschwanez’s inquiry into her “experience with ADHD and overstimulation,” where the “merging faces are about the chaos in the brain and twisting thoughts.”
Koschwanez, who has participated in the competition since her freshman year, also won a Silver Key for her work “How to Layer,” an almost infographic-like illustration detailing appropriate winter clothes. The piece, in part, reads, “Thick hat: don’t let your body escape from your brain.” This work was from an expedition where participants had to make images to “teach people what you know,” Koschwanez said.
Neelu Trivedi, another CRLS senior and one of the nine Cambridge high school students to receive national award recognition this year, completed her pieces in Chaney’s Studio Two course. “Brutalism at Noon,” an illustration of a Cambridge skyline, won her a national Gold Medal. Trivedi said it was her way of finding the “beauty” in her everyday walk to school.
The work was a part of Chaney’s “altered surface” assignment, where students had to modify an abstract surface. “I did a jelly plate print, and so I rolled a bunch of random colors of paint on it,” Trivedi said. “And it ended up looking to me, like buildings. Then after it dried, I just drew on [the details] with white and black pen.”
Anoke Deitg Blanchard, also a CRLS senior, won a National Gold Medal for digital art, particularly his photography. Deitg Blanchard won a Gold Medal for “Cry of Victory,” a close up shot of a basketball player, and a Silver Portfolio Medal for “Human Emotion,” a collection of his black and white portraiture.
“What I try to capture is the emotional intensity of the games,” Deitg Blanchard, whose Instagram tag is @anokephotography, said about his sports photography. He has already received assignments from ESPN and other sports companies.
The other CRLS students who received national recognition are Finn Graham, Tadhg Ledlie, Natalia Naef, Dev Parmeshwar, Naomi Pfeffer, and Marvi Spahiu. Two Cambridge residents who attend Buckingham Browne & Nichols, Amelia Blake from BB&N’s Upper School and Erin Yu from BB&N High School, also took home national medals.
In the writing category, six CRLS students participated at the regional level, and one won a regional award. There were no national participants in the writing category from CRLS.
The award recognition can be helpful for students who are looking to pursue art in college and in their careers, Chaney said.
Koschwanez, for example, is on her way to the Rhode Island School of Art and Design in the fall. Deitg Blanchard is pursuing a sports photography route, and dreams of becoming an NBA photographer, he said.
But there are other students who may not dream of pursuing art as their career, and still note the awards as important to them. Trivedi, for example, hopes to major in physics in college, and says art is her break from “hardcore math and physics.”
What all the students seem to share is an appreciation for the teachers that encouraged them.
Chaney spoke to her deep pride in her students. “I always just appreciate when students can pull what they care about and think about that [into their art.] That voice that really makes their work stand out.”
Regional scholastic winners were recognized at a March 15 award ceremony. National awards were announced on March 25 and will be celebrated at a ceremony June 10.
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