Helen V. ’23 Awarded National Gold Medal in Scholastic Art & Writing Award Contest

Helen’s National Gold Medal was awarded in the Photography category for her piece "Kafes.” In addition to being invited to a week-long national celebration in New York City (which includes a ceremony at Carnegie Hall), she is also eligible for scholarships of up to $10,000. Helen's artwork may also be featured in exhibitions in New York City, Washington, DC, and throughout the country, as well as highlighted in Best Teen Art and Best Teen Writing. A list of all National Medalists is also included in the Yearbook.

Foxcroft had a strong showing in this year’s Scholastic competition, with 16 works from ten students earning regional recognition. Four submissions, including Helen’s “Kafes,” received Gold Keys, the highest regional distinction, and advanced to the national level. 

All of the art and writing submissions are blindly judged — first locally through the more than 100 affiliates of the Alliance and then nationally by panels of judges comprised of renowned artists, authors, educators, and industry experts — based on the same three criteria that have been in place since the program’s founding in 1928: originality, technical skill, and emergence of personal vision or voice. As a Gold Medalist, Helen shares the same title as other National Gold Award alumni including artists Andy Warhol and Cy Twombly, actors Robert Redford and John Lithgow, director Ken Burns, authors Stephen King and Joyce Carol Oates, and poets Sylvia Plath and Amanda Gorman.