Whiz Kid of the Week: Ngozi Urama

Ngozi Urama

Hayfield Secondary School

Key To Awesomeness: Regional winner of the Gold Key award in the Scholastic Art Awards competition for her self portrait

More about the competition:

Hundreds of middle and high school students, including several from Hybla Valley area schools, won regional awards in the Scholastic Art Awards competition. 

Earlier this week, Gold and Silver Key winners from Hayfield Secondary High School, Whitman Middle School, and West Potomac High School were recognized along with their peers at an awards ceremony at the Annandale campus of Northern Virginia Community College in the Ernst Community Cultural Center.

“What we’re here about tonight is not something that can be measured on a standardized test. It’s not something you can bubble in. It’s something that is our essence and the essence of our young people,” said Hunter Mill District Stuart D. Gibson, one of the speakers for the night.

The competition is a national program that seeks to recognize the achievements of art students in grades 7th through 12th. The students’ teachers selected the submitted works last Fall and all were processed by the program from January through March.

Works were reviewed by a panel of judges comprised of professional artists and art educators in the Washington, D.C. metro area such as photographers and illustrators, art gallery owners, artist and George Mason University School of Art professor of New Media Mark Cooley and more.

This year, judges viewed and scored selections based on photographs of the actual artwork rather than viewing it in person.

“[Judges] look for creativity, a unique vision for the student as well as a higher skill level than people would expect,” said Aaron Stratten, Fine Arts Resource Teacher with FCPS. “It’s a really interesting experience to see all that really great work come into one place.”

The panel reviewed more than 165,000 works and 1,677 of those entries came from FCPS students. A total of 171 students won Gold Keys, 141 students won Silver Keys and 136 were awarded Certificates of Merit for their work in one or more of the following categories: drawings, paintings, prints, photographs, ceramics and glass pieces, sculptures, digital art, film and animation, architecture, fashion, jewelry, comic art, design, mixed media, and portfolios.

In addition to being recognized for the Scholastic Art Awards, students also received leadership team awards and scholarship awards. Several Gold Key Portfolio students won scholarship awards from the Arts Council of Fairfax County, Council for the Arts of Herndon/SAIC Technology and the Arts Program, Fairfax Art League, Lorton Arts Foundation, Springfield Art Guild and Vienna Arts Society. Hayfield Secondary School’s Ngozi Urama’s Self Portrait won the Fairfax County Public Schools School Board Awards for group two.

All Gold Key winners are entered into the national Scholastic Art Awards competition. Those winners are announced in April. A full list of regional winners, their schools, and titles of their work can be found here. The students’ work will be on display in the Ernst Community Cultural Center until Thursday, Feb. 24.

Hayfield Secondary
Rebeca Alvarez Mixed Media (Certificate of Merit)
Angelique Durocher Printmaking (Certificate of Merit)
Nathan Robbins Drawing (Certificate of Merit)
Ngozi Urama Drawing Self Portrait (Gold Key)

Whitman Middle School
Erika Sanchez Design (Certificate of Merit)

West Potomac High School
Tayler Aitken - Art Portfolio Art Portfolio(Certificate of Merit)
Tayler Aitken - Digital Art The Lost Vessel (Silver Key)
Emilia Blaszkiewicz - Photography Feel the Waves (Gold Key)
Brady Corum - Photography Holding On (Certificate of Merit)
Kelsey Donovan - Photo Portfolio Photo Portfolio (Certificate of Merit)
Ben Finfrock - Drawing Cowboy (Gold Key)
Olivia Frizzell - Art Portfolio Art Portfolio (Silver Key)
Olivia Frizzell - Painting Hide N' Seek (Certificate of Merit)
Carolyn Johnson - Art Portfolio Art Portfolio (Gold Key)
Margaret Kerr - Photo Portfolio Photo Portfolio (Silver Key)
Bonnie Morgan - Drawing A Splash of Whimsy (Certificate of Merit)
Bonnie Morgan - Art Portfolio Art Portfolio (Gold Key)
Bonnie Morgan - Drawing From Death Sprouts Beaut (Gold Key)
Hailey Schmick - Photography Strive (Certificate of Merit)
Elizabeth Stanley - Film & Animation Dancing in DC (Certificate of Merit)
Caitlin Stewart - Photo Portfolio Photo Portfolio (Silver Key)
Jenna Van Dyck - Photography Tranquility (Certificate of Merit)
Jennifer Wilder - Art Portfolio Art Portfolio (Gold Key)
Celeste Zabowski - Digital Art What doesn't kill you... (Certificate of Merit)