Each year is filled with new opportunities for students at NAHS to expand on their passions, and these opportunities, which run the gamut from clubs to national programs, often help students grow in character. This year, a select number of North Atlanta’s finest artistic minds have recently won an award for one of the best programs for arts and excellence, otherwise known as the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. This program, which involves literature and visual arts, is used to help elevate a student’s chances of recognition and scholarships for their exemplary work. Ranging from various genres for both areas, such as science fiction for writing and fashion for art, the products students create are, needless to say, some of the best in the country.

Sophomore Annie Kim won the Scholastic Award for art, along with two Gold Keys — an award that goes to the best entries in the program and automatically places these works for national-level recognition. Kim was drawn to enter this program due to her passion for art, and was very shocked to win not only one, but two gold keys. “This is one of the best accomplishments I’ve made,” she said. 

Kim’s work, an observational watercolor piece and a self portrait, will be shown at an award ceremony at SCAD later this February.

A winner of the Scholastic Award for writing, sophomore Sparrow Harrell wrote a book for her entry into the program. The book, titled “The Scarlet Crown,” went on to win a Gold Key for writing, an achievement she was highly overjoyed to receive. “I’m so glad that I won this award, as I’d dedicated a lot of my time to this book and just fell in love with writing it,” she said. “Writing is definitely one of my favorite things to do, and I’m very appreciative of such an amazing opportunity.”

The exemplary work of these talented students demonstrates how passionate they are with what they do, something very admirable at North Atlanta. The arts are one of the school’s most distinguished areas, and the students involved with this best demonstrate the school’s artistic abilities. From creative writing, ceramics, digital art, and so much more, North Atlanta’s arts department is a highly regarded aspect of the school, with students like Harrell and Kim representing it very well. 

North Atlanta: A center for academics and athletics, and, increasingly, for the arts.