Governor’s School students receive top honors in 2020 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards

There’s gold (and silver) in them there (Upstate) hills


Out of 18,000 works of creative writing and visual art competing in the national 2020 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, 12 students from the SC Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities won 18 medals.

For the first time in the school’s history, a creative writing and a visual arts student both received the best-in-show awards—the American Voices and Visions Medals—representing the entire southeast region. All of these students will be recognized at the 2020 National Ceremony at Carnegie Hall in June.

The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, presented by the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, is the nation’s longest-running and most prestigious scholarship and recognition program for young artists and writers in grades 7–12, and serves as a launch pad for furthering students’ future success by providing them with access to scholarship programs and workshops, as well as the ability to have their work published and displayed in regional and national exhibitions.

The Governor’s School’s Creative Writing medalists include:

  • Camryn Hambrick – Gold Medal and American Voices Medal, Humor
  • Alyssa Wilson – Gold Medal, Poetry
  • Sophie Young – Gold Medal, Poetry; Gold Medal, Personal Essay & Memoir
  • Emma Rose Gowans – Gold Medal, Science Fiction/Fantasy; Silver Medal, Digital Art
  • Chad Moss – Gold Medal, Personal Essay & Memoir
  • Bees Runge – Silver Medal, Poetry
  • Gracie Young – Silver Medal with Distinction, Writing Portfolio

Visual Arts medalists include:

  • Benay Daniel – Gold Medal and American Visions Medal, Film & Animation
  • Honoka Segi – Gold Medal, Design
  • Lucy Siegler – Gold Medal, Design; Gold Medal, Comic Art; Gold Medal, Comic Art
  • Wylder Voegele – Gold Medal, Sculpture
  • John Wright – Silver Medal, Art Portfolio

In the fall, nearly 340,000 works were submitted to the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards from affiliates and region-at-large competitions. In the Southeast Region-At-Large competition, representing Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia, Governor’s School students received a total of 138 awards, including 30 Gold Keys and two American Voices and Visions nominations. All Gold Key works and five American Voices and five American Vision nominees from each region are then judged in the national competition. The American Voices and Visions Medals represent the highest regional honors and are given to one writer and one visual artist from each region. This year, both of these medals went to Governor’s School students.

The SC Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities, located in Greenville, is a public, residential high school that provides pre-professional training in the areas of creative writing, dance, drama, and music. For the past twenty years, students from across the state have been refining their talents in a master-apprentice community while receiving a nationally recognized academic education.


About SC Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities

Located in Greenville, the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities (SCGSAH) cultivates young artists from across the state through pre-professional training in the areas of creative writing, dance, drama, music and visual arts. In the public, residential high school, students refine their talents in a master-apprentice community while receiving a nationally recognized academic education. Summer programs are available to rising 7th-12th grade students, and SCGSAH serves as a resource to all teachers and students in South Carolina, offering comprehensive outreach programs designed to bring together artists, educators, community organizations and schools. SCGSAH.org