Lakewood Students Rack Up Record 67 Awards At Art Competition

LAKEWOOD, OH — Lakewood students took home 17 Gold Keys during the annual Scholastic Art & Writing Awards regional competition in December. Students from the city earned accolades for 67 pieces overall. Gold Keys are the highest-honor awarded.

With 67 recognized pieces, 2017-2018 was one of the most successful years the district has ever had at the competition. Amy Sedlak, the Lakewood High Art Department facilitator, said the school has never collected so many honors in one competition.

“It goes to show that our students take our program seriously,” she said.

Among the Gold Key winners for the Lakewood Schools was the district's first-ever portfolio award winner which went to Lakewood High senior Elyza Mihalski, who also won three other Gold Keys for her work and two Silver Keys. The top award winner was senior Micah Inak with four Gold Keys, seven Silver Keys and three Honorable Mentions.

Gold Key winners move on to the national competition.

Other Gold Key winners from the district included 8th grader Inga Wilhemy of Harding Middle School, Lakewood High art students Jordan Bozak, Calvin Dolatowski, Solace Duval, Kazimir Klein, Emily Perry and Anastasia Seckers; and Career-Tech Media Art & Design program students Sara Bitter and Riley Geyer.

Lakewood students were also well-represented at the Silver Key and Honorable Mention levels. Thirteen students won 21 Silver Keys, including two by senior Marissa Doi. Twenty students earned Honorable Mention designations for their art.

The 2017 regional competition was hosted by the Cleveland Institute of Art. Artists at the event compete for cash prizes, scholarships and medals. A panel of local professional artists, teachers, writers and other make up the jury. This year there were more than 3,000 total entries.

Portfolio Award winners and Gold Key Award winners move on to the national competition held in New York City in the spring.

A list of all the district's award winners is below.

• Sara Bitter – Digital Art (West Shore)
• Jordan Bozak – Printmaking
• Calvin Dolatowski – Printmaking
• Solace Duval – Drawing & Illustration
• Riley Geyer – Digital Art (West Shore)
• Micah Inak (4) – Digital Art, Design, Drawing & Illustration (West Shore & LHS)
• Kazimir Klein – Photography
• Elyza Mihalski (4) – Painting & Portfolio
• Emily Perry – Drawing & Illustration
• Anastasia Seckers – Drawing & Illustration
• Inga Wilhelmy – Painting (Harding)

Silver Key Winners: (approximately 10-15 percent of regional entries)

• Destiny Canant – Drawing & Illustration
• Marissa Doi (2) – Printmaking & Photography
• Calvin Dolatowski – Drawing & Illustration
• Solace Duval – Printmaking
• Micah Inak (7) – Mixed Media, Drawing & Illustration, Painting (West Shore & LHS)
• Madisyn Kelly – Photography (West Shore)
• Adalyn Mankin – Photography
• Elyza Mihalski (2) – Painting
• Sophia Parker – Printmaking
• Emily Perry - Drawing & Illustration
• Avery Waffen – Digital Art (West Shore)
• Fern Wentzel – Digital Art (West Shore)
• Inga Wilhelmy- Painting (Harding)

• Jordan Bozak – Printmaking
• Morgaine Brennan – Printmaking
• Maizy Cunningham (2) – Photography
• Caitlin Gang – Printmaking
• Riley Geyer – Photography (West Shore)
• Micah Inak (4) – Design, Drawing & Illustration (LHS & West Shore)
• Evelyn Jenkins – Drawing & Illustration
• Madisyn Kelly – Photography (West Shore)
• Kazimir Klein – Photography
• Evan Koster (2) – Photography, Film & Animation (West Shore)
• Alexandra Larson (2) – Film & Animation, Design (West Shore)
• Veronica Lee – Drawing & Illustration
• Autumn Lods – Drawing & Illustration
• Husam Mafargeh (2) – Printmaking, Drawing & Illustration
• Faiza Manaa – Drawing & Illustration
• Seth Marroquin – Design (West Shore)
• Erin McHugh – Drawing & Illustration
• Bella Smith – Photography
• Chloe Soneson – Mixed Media
• Lillian Utrata (2)– Drawing & Illustration
• Fern Wentzel (2) – Printmaking, Film & Animation (LHS & West Shore)
• Inga Wilhelmy – Painting (Harding)
• Lalia Williams – Mixed Media

Photos from Lakewood City Schools