Schools

FCPS Student Writers Receive 2022 Scholastic Regional Writing Awards

Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) student writers won 26 Gold Key awards in the 2022 Regional Scholastic Writing Awards competition.

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(Fairfax County Public Schools)

Press release from Fairfax County Public Schools:

March 28, 2022

Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) student writers won 26 Gold Key awards in the 2022 Regional Scholastic Writing Awards competition. In all, 137 Gold Key, Silver Key, and Honorable Mentions were earned by FCPS students.

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Thanisha Chowdury, a student at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST), was named an American Voices Nominee for her flash fiction, “Heavenbound,” and Trini Rogando, also a student at TJHSST, was named an American Voices Nominee for her personal essay and memoir, “The Effect of First Loves on Religious Decay.”

Winners in the regional competition came from 23 Fairfax County middle and high schools. A complete list of FCPS winners can be found below.

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The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, presented by the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers, is the largest, longest-running recognition program of its kind in the United States. Writing categories include critical essay, dramatic script, flash fiction, humor, journalism, novel writing, personal essay and memoir, poetry, science fiction and fantasy, short story, and writing portfolio. More information about the Scholastic Writing Awards is available online(link is external).

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  • Ethan Hush, Honorable Mention for "The Hunt is On" (Short Story), Annandale High School
  • Eunice Choi, Gold Key for "Fantasy Lies" (Personal Essay & Memoir), Chantilly High School
  • Eunice Choi, Honorable Mention for "Bathtub" (Flash Fiction), Chantilly High School
  • Eunice Choi, Honorable Mention for "An 8 Fl Oz. Bottle of Water" (Short Story), Chantilly High School
  • Rachel Lee, Gold Key for "Taking a Stand: How Flaxseed Promises to Combat Poverty’s Dirt Flooring Crisis" (Journalism), Chantilly High School
  • Hannah Moghaddar, Honorable Mention for "A Back Road to Happily Ever After: Repercussions of the Media’s Enmity Towards Women of Color" (Critical Essay), Chantilly High School
  • Srija Upadhyay, Gold Key for "Volucrine Verselets" (Poetry), Chantilly High School
  • Srija Upadhyay, Honorable Mention for "of broken birds & beautiful ballerinas" (Poetry), Chantilly High School
  • Jason Yoo, Silver Key for "To Be Afraid of Fear" (Personal Essay & Memoir), Chantilly High School
  • Naomi Lee, Honorable Mention for "Pods" (Science Fiction & Fantasy), Cooper Middle School
  • Shreya Lele, Honorable Mention for "Stop Asian Hate!" (Poetry), Cooper Middle School
  • Shreya Lele, Silver Key for "The Accessory" (Flash Fiction), Cooper Middle School
  • Renee Shi, Honorable Mention for "The Crimson Phoenix" (Novel Writing), Cooper Middle School
  • Renee Shi, Honorable Mention for "Masterpiece" (Short Story), Cooper Middle School
  • Renee Shi, Honorable Mention for "Monster" (Short Story), Cooper Middle School
  • Renee Shi, Silver Key for "Paranoia" (Flash Fiction), Cooper Middle School
  • Leah Hamaker, Silver Key for "Fairbone" (Novel Writing), Fairfax High School
  • Leah Hamaker, Silver Key for "The Haunting of the House" (Science Fiction & Fantasy), Fairfax High School
  • Amy Nam, Honorable Mention for "SUPERMAN vs zombie & My Biggest Bully" (Poetry), Frost Middle School
  • Sydney Wong, Honorable Mention for "Undercurrents" (Personal Essay & Memoir), Hayfield Secondary School
  • Hana Kolyani, Honorable Mention for "A woman with a parasol" (Poetry), Joyce Kilmer Middle School
  • Bianca Blancaflor, Silver Key for "One Time" (Poetry), Lake Braddock Secondary School
  • Stephanie Groves, Honorable Mention for "An Ode to Film" (Poetry), Lake Braddock Secondary School
  • Stephanie Groves, Silver Key for "The Waiting Field" (Dramatic Script), Lake Braddock Secondary School
  • Stephanie Groves, Silver Key for "Romulus and Remus: An Epic Mishap" (Humor), Lake Braddock Secondary School
  • Michelle Wang, 10th grade, National Silver Medal (and Regional Gold Key) for "A'Tai's Storm" (Personal Essay & Memoir), Lake Braddock Secondary School
  • Jenna Cai, Gold Key for "Four Glimpses of Grandpa" (Poetry), Langley High School
  • Bryan Choe, Honorable Mention for "The Truth About Plant-Based Meat" (Critical Essay), Langley High School
  • Tracy Gong, Gold Key for "Username: Crunchy Rabbit" (Short Story), Langley High School
  • Tracy Gong, Honorable Mention for "Autumn Leaves" (Short Story), Langley High School
  • Samantha Grayer, Honorable Mention for "Confederate Monuments: Celebrating Anti-American History" (Critical Essay), Langley High School
  • Kai Henryson-Gibbs, Honorable Mention for "Fight" (Poetry), Langley High School
  • Andrew Hwang, Honorable Mention for "Which Glitters is Not Always Gold" (Critical Essay), Langley High School
  • Andrew Hwang, Honorable Mention for "Perception" (Personal Essay & Memoir), Langley High School
  • Danna Jia, Honorable Mention for "Are Holidays Necessary?" (Critical Essay), Langley High School
  • Ashley Khang, Honorable Mention for "My Name" (Short Story), Langley High School
  • Ashley Khang, Silver Key for "The Dual Reality of Water: How Access to Water Mirrors Society" (Journalism), Langley High School
  • Sheoli Lele, Honorable Mention for "Does one-size-fits-all apply to Education?" (Personal Essay & Memoir), Langley High School
  • Phoebe Pan, Honorable Mention for "A Letter to Superintendent Scott Brabrand" (Critical Essay), Langley High School
  • Phoebe Pan, Honorable Mention for "Dear Dentist" (Flash Fiction), Langley High School
  • Phoebe Pan, Silver Key for "The Girl Who Carried The Stars" (Flash Fiction), Langley High School
  • Kalyna Vickers, Honorable Mention for "To Growth" (Poetry), Langley High School
  • Peyton Walcott, Gold Key for "The Killer Whale: An Economic Solution to Single-Use Plastics" (Critical Essay), Langley High School
  • Peyton Walcott, Honorable Mention for "The Killer Whale: An Economic Solution to Single-Use Plastics" (Critical Essay), Langley High School
  • Aliyah Majeed-Hall, Silver Key for "Andromeda" (Short Story), Langley School
  • Seongwoo Ju, Silver Key for "Learning From the Past to Build a Greener Future" (Critical Essay), Longfellow Middle School
  • Sandi Schneider, Honorable Mention for "Dear, Whoever This Reaches" (Poetry), Longfellow Middle School
  • Sandi Schneider, Honorable Mention for "The Immortal and The Time Traveler" (Poetry), Longfellow Middle School
  • Sandi Schneider, Honorable Mention for "Something Isn't Right" (Science Fiction & Fantasy), Longfellow Middle School
  • Sandi Schneider, Honorable Mention for "My Swing of Daisies" (Short Story), Longfellow Middle School
  • Sandi Schneider, Silver Key for "It Was Never Meant to Be" (Poetry), Longfellow Middle School
  • Sandi Schneider, Silver Key for "Hiraeth" (Poetry), Longfellow Middle School
  • Sandi Schneider, Silver Key for "The Deer With Horns of Trees" (Poetry), Longfellow Middle School
  • Alicia Yau, Honorable Mention for "Nostalgic Tour" (Science Fiction & Fantasy), Longfellow Middle School
  • Joonwon Lee, Gold Key for "The Scarce Water: Innovative Ways to Quench" (Critical Essay), Luther Jackson Middle School
  • Reyna Berry, Honorable Mention for "Make Home" (Flash Fiction), Marshall High School
  • Reyna Berry, Honorable Mention for "the rain & other things" (Poetry), Marshall High School
  • Reyna Berry, Honorable Mention for "The Sunbearer" (Poetry), Marshall High School
  • Jackson Dabich, Silver Key for "We'll Be Right Back" (Flash Fiction), Marshall High School
  • Deborah Kim, Honorable Mention for "How Many Times" (Poetry), Marshall High School
  • Daniel Ahn, Gold Key for "Alien Invasion" (Flash Fiction), McLean High School
  • Mackenzie Chen, Honorable Mention for "One Woman Inspires a Wave of Change" (Journalism), McLean High School
  • Rose Chen, Silver Key for "The Impact of Sustainable Buildings’ Interior Design" (Critical Essay), McLean High School
  • Marley Derienzo, Gold Key for "Ongoing Plans" (Flash Fiction), McLean High School
  • Elisabeth Eick, Honorable Mention for "The Best Laid Plan" (Personal Essay & Memoir), McLean High School
  • Elisabeth Eick, Honorable Mention for "Brush Street, Detroit" (Poetry), McLean High School
  • Elisabeth Eick, Honorable Mention for "Boredom" (Poetry), McLean High School
  • Elisabeth Eick, Silver Key for "Living With It" (Dramatic Script), McLean High School
  • Luke Felix, Honorable Mention for "Fingernails" (Poetry), McLean High School
  • Runa Fujimagari, Honorable Mention for "An Icy Depth" (Science Fiction & Fantasy), McLean High School
  • Minsong Ha, Gold Key for "Kyrie Irving on the Courts of Basketball and the Internet" (Critical Essay), McLean High School
  • Yeonsu Ju, Silver Key for "Transmissible Viral Vaccine to Alleviate the Economic Damages Caused by Zoonotic Diseases" (Critical Essay), McLean High School
  • Sigrid Kim, Honorable Mention for "Home" (Poetry), McLean High School
  • Youngjae Kim, Gold Key for "Russia’s 2014 Conquest of Crimea: A Canary in a Coal Mine or the End of an Era?" (Critical Essay), McLean High School
  • Taylor Konditi, Silver Key for "----Children of Ichor." (Poetry), McLean High School
  • Jennifer Li, Gold Key for "Face" (Flash Fiction), McLean High School
  • Jennifer Li, Gold Key for "ABC" (Personal Essay & Memoir), McLean High School
  • Sherry Li, Silver Key for "A Garden" (Personal Essay & Memoir), McLean High School
  • Zhiyi Li, Gold Key for "An Invisible Message: Behind Cultural Media Censorship and Democratization" (Critical Essay), McLean High School
  • Ellen Pan, Gold Key for "Forget Me, Forget Me Not" (Short Story), McLean High School
  • Ellen Pan, Honorable Mention for "If Only in a Dream" (Personal Essay & Memoir), McLean High School
  • Ellen Pan, Silver Key for "S is for Smile" (Personal Essay & Memoir), McLean High School
  • Sophia Pandit, Silver Key for "Destruction in Six Forms" (Poetry), McLean High School
  • Emily Reisman, Silver Key for "Broken Hands on a Clock" (Poetry), McLean High School
  • Vachel Thevenot, Silver Key for "Infernal Eidolons - Furnace" (Short Story), McLean High School
  • Doris Zhang, Honorable Mention for "Welcome Back" (Short Story), McLean High School
  • Megan Zhang, Honorable Mention for "Today, The Sun Has Framed You Into Poetry" (Poetry), McLean High School
  • Olivia Zhang, Gold Key) for "The Grief Exam" (Personal Essay & Memoir), McLean High School
  • Aileen Zhao, Gold Key for "The Genesis" (Poetry), McLean High School
  • Aileen Zhao, Gold Key for "Eden: A Game About Choices" (Short Story), McLean High School
  • Aileen Zhao, Honorable Mention for "Three for a Friend" (Poetry), McLean High School
  • Aileen Zhao, Silver Key for "Funeral Games for the Horse Breaker" (Poetry), McLean High School
  • Aileen Zhao, Silver Key for "The Poltergeists" (Science Fiction & Fantasy), McLean High School
  • Jiayin Zou, Gold Key for "Calm Down" (Personal Essay & Memoir), McLean High School
  • Jiayin Zou, Honorable Mention for "Monsters" (Short Story), McLean High School
  • Eric Chen, Gold Key for "Ending Modern Slavery by Targeting Enabling Environments and Treating the Vulnerabilities in Victims" (Critical Essay), Oakton High School
  • Anna Cheng, Silver Key for "Downward Discovery" (Personal Essay & Memoir), Oakton High School
  • Nicole Deng, Honorable Mention for "the solitude of the four seasons" (Poetry), Oakton High School
  • Nicole Deng, Silver Key for "The View of Chengdu, China" (Personal Essay & Memoir), Oakton High School
  • Tina Gao, Honorable Mention for "The Gender Wage Gap and Its Persistence in American Society" (Critical Essay), Oakton High School
  • Chloe Lee, Gold Key for "Hope to Restart" (Poetry), Oakton High School
  • Chloe Lee, Honorable Mention for "Generation 1.5" (Poetry), Oakton High School
  • Chloe Lee, Silver Key for "All American Korean" (Personal Essay & Memoir), Oakton High School
  • Chloe Lee, Silver Key for "To Coexist" (Poetry), Oakton High School
  • Cindy Li, Honorable Mention for "Sweet Bubble Tea" (Personal Essay & Memoir), Oakton High School
  • Elsa Li, Silver Key for "Let it Go" (Personal Essay & Memoir), Oakton High School
  • Lena Song, Honorable Mention for "The Plastic Water Bottle" (Poetry), Oakton High School
  • Lena Song, Honorable Mention for "Grief, Growth, and Hope" (Poetry), Oakton High School
  • Oliver Williams, Honorable Mention for "Darkness" (Poetry), Oakton High School
  • Aaron Chen, Gold Key for "The Heart of Time" (Science Fiction & Fantasy), Rachel Carson Middle school
  • Isaac Park, Honorable Mention for "Under the Leaf" (Short Story), Rachel Carson Middle school
  • Michelle Dinh, Honorable Mention for "Forgotten Records" (Novel Writing), Robinson Secondary School
  • Ella Hartman, Honorable Mention for "All My Fault" (Flash Fiction), Rocky Run Middle School
  • Sophia Baum, Honorable Mention for "Spirit's Due Time" (Short Story), South County High School
  • Aeryn Dahm, Honorable Mention for "Elisabeth Linden and the Crying Tree" (Science Fiction & Fantasy), South County High School
  • Aurelia Klunder, Honorable Mention for "Mooma" (Personal Essay & Memoir), South County High School
  • Hannah Elysse Mayo, Honorable Mention for "The Right Thing to Do" (Short Story), South County High School
  • Yohana Tesfaye, Honorable Mention for "The Girl with the Flower-Petal Eyelashes" (Short Story), South County High School
  • Cameron Cates, Honorable Mention for "I Cut My Hair the Way I Wanted" (Poetry), South Lakes High School
  • Maxine Prudhomme, Silver Key for "Transcorporeal" (Poetry), South Lakes High School
  • Leah Abraham, Honorable Mention for "Grocery Store" (Flash Fiction), West Springfield High School
  • Ben Bradfield, Honorable Mention for "One Word" (Poetry), West Springfield High School
  • Eunice Choe, Honorable Mention for "Powerful Mauma Kea" (Short Story), West Springfield High School
  • Olivia Gondek, Silver Key for "Mother's Pearls" (Flash Fiction), West Springfield High School
  • Grace Kang, Honorable Mention for "As The Poets Say" (Poetry), West Springfield High School
  • Jiitu Kuffa, Honorable Mention for "The Fall of Dahlia" (Short Story), West Springfield High School
  • Nour Mokbel, Honorable Mention for "Bottom of the Bag" (Personal Essay & Memoir), West Springfield High School
  • Nour Mokbel, Silver Key for "The Late Bus" (Short Story), West Springfield High School
  • Dennis Ngo, Honorable Mention for "Smile" (Personal Essay & Memoir), West Springfield High School
  • Hannah Kang, Gold Key for "Pass Me My Ladder" (Poetry), Westfield High School
  • Miriam Fabrycky, Honorable Mention for "Pain d'Épice" (Short Story), Woodson High School
  • Srivaishnavi Kommireddy, Honorable Mention for "Perfectly Imperfect World" (Short Story), Woodson High School
  • Zainab Rentia, Honorable Mention for "Changing Relationships" (Personal Essay & Memoir), Woodson High School
  • Zainab Rentia, Honorable Mention for "Stuck in the Past" (Personal Essay & Memoir), Woodson High School
  • Yilin Tan, Gold Key for "Chairman Mao at My Dinner Table" (Personal Essay & Memoir), Woodson High School
  • Yilin Tan, Honorable Mention for "In Regards to Music" (Poetry), Woodson High School.

    • This press release was produced by Fairfax County Public Schools. The views expressed here are the author’s own.

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