In the 2023 Scholastic Art and Writing Competition, Maggie Walker students won a total of 93 awards: 69 in the art categories and 24 in the writing categories! Furthermore, many of these students also won gold keys—Scholastic’s highest award—in their respective categories for a total of 28 in art and 3 in writing. 

Sophomore Matilda Frantz won a silver key award in the drawing category. For this, she drew a self-portrait, incorporating a technique from an artist she liked, John William Waterhouse. Matilda explained that the process of creating the piece took about two months, with the majority being done at home. Alongside other schoolwork these past two months, Matilda had to budget her time accordingly to be able to work on this project. “I’m glad to have the freedom of being able to work on the project at any time, but without having designated time to work in school each day, good time management became a very important factor,” she stated about the process. 

To incorporate the skill she liked from John William Waterhouse, she used chalk pastels and charcoal pencils to enhance her artwork. While working on the piece, Frantz explains that she was most motivated by the idea of the finished product and the encouragement of her classmates. “I was passionate about the artist that I chose to emulate, and I was excited to see how the medium used would look in the final product,” she says. 

Sophomore Aditya Badhrayan won an honorable mention in the short story category of the competition. For this submission, Badhrayan wrote a moving and touching story about two brothers, one of whom struggled with mental illnesses. Since there was no designated prompt for the competition, Badhrayan was able to write about something he was passionate about. “I was motivated to write about something that so many people close to me face on a regular basis and be able to bring it to light,” he commented. Badhrayan said the entire writing process took about a week, but brainstorming prior to writing took some more time. 

Overall, it is clear that Maggie Walker has so many talented students who brought their creativity and hard work to this year’s art and writing competition. Congratulations to all of our Dragons!