Middle and Upper School Students Win 325 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards
February 2, 2026
The Regional Scholastic Art and Writing Awards recognized 167 Seven Hills Middle and Upper School students with 325 awards for their writing and artwork.
The Scholastic Arts and Writing Competition is one of the oldest and largest student competitions in the nation.
In the writing competition, Seven Hills students won 66 Gold Keys and 105 Silver Keys across various writing categories, including poetry, critical essay, flash fiction, short story, and personal essay. Gold Keys enter them into consideration for the national awards, across all categories.
Fourteen of the awards were earned by eighth graders and eighth grade English teacher Laura Clemens said she was not surprised by their achievement.
“Our students are extremely talented writers who have lots of opportunities within our curriculum to build their skills and express their creativity,” Clemens said.
Seven Hills won the most of the schools that compete in the southern Ohio, eastern Indiana, and Northern Kentucky region. Sophomore Mia Wang earned six Gold Keys. Junior Avery Wang and sophomore Aiden Yang both won three Gold Keys for essays. Junior Jackie Katuska and senior MIles Rizor both earned Gold Keys for essays in consecutive years.
Junior Jason Zhou earned seven essay recognitions and Avery Wang earned eight, setting a new school record.
Over the last five years, Seven Hills has earned more than 1,000 awards.
Upper School’s The Palette and The Pen club hosted multiple informational meetings about how to submit pieces to the competition. As a thank you to the students who submitted, the Upper School English department hosted a pizza party in the Hillsdale Commons.
“I am so proud to teach such creative students who push themselves and their ideas within the thesis-bound essay, but also beyond the traditional structures of academia through personal essays, poems, novels, and articles for the student newspaper,” said Shauna Whelan, Upper School English and journalism and design teacher.
In the arts competition, 13 Middle and Upper School students won seven Gold Keys and five silver keys. Nine students earned Keys in both the writing and arts competitions.
“I am continually impressed by the out-of-the-box ideas students compose here, which have been nurtured throughout their education by countless educators. The strength of Seven Hills’s students and writing program has never been more apparent,” Whelan said.
