Among the many opportunities for students at Dimond to showcase their abilities, the Scholastic Art and Writing competition provides those who have a passion for the arts and writing to excel further.

With the competition ending only a couple of weeks ago, the students who took part were willing to share their experiences, as well as their feelings towards receiving awards.

Sophomore and award recipient Rachel Lowrance was willing to share her experience with participating in the competition and receiving recognition for her art and writing.

Students may wonder why they should participate in the Scholastic Competition, and Lowrance gave her stance on it.

Lowrance said, “I’m beginning to look at career options and scholarships, and I heard that this would be good to put on a college portfolio.”

For those who wish to pursue a career in writing or the arts, participating in the competition could be a way for them to get a head start in their field of interest.

After receiving two Silver Keys as awards for her artwork along with other academic praise, Lowrance mentioned that participating in the competition, “Generally looks good on applications for college or anything else I might do.”

While her work was recognized by the judges, Lowrance went on to say that she would participate in the Scholastic Competition if it was offered again, but only if the work she were to submit were up to par with her previous standards.

Despite the fact that the contest itself may seem difficult for students to believe that they will do well on, Lowrance believes that, “You’ll never know what could have happened unless you try.”

For Lowrance, taking that risk was worth it in the end, and receiving praise and recognition for her work will only benefit her in the future.

Christopher Chung, another Dimond sophomore and award recipient, was also willing to share how the competition went for him.

“There wasn’t really anything to lose,” Chung said, “so I thought to myself, ‘might as well do it!’”

Chung had won an award for his personal memoir about his sixth-grade experience at a rope course.

He discussed facing his fears at a young age

With his reception of the award, Chung said, “I can put my award in my scholarship portfolio, and it gives me confidence to submit my writing in future competitions.”

Chung mentions that to those that may wish to participate in the competition in the future should do so, and that, “… you only have to pay a five-dollar entrance fee and that’s it…”

In closing, Chung states, “Don’t be afraid to put your work out there and just do it!”

Leslie Matz, the Dimond Department Chair for the Arts, gave more general information about the competition.

According to Matz, Dimond has been participating in the competition for roughly an astounding 30 years, with the compounding of the writing section being the most recent addition.

Moreover, Matz believes that a student that receives Scholastic recognition will “weigh heavily in front of the college board.”

Another positive that Matz mentions is that for those who are thinking about pursuing the arts in their college years, receiving a Gold Key almost, according to Matz, “guarantees admission to an art school.”

Among those who won the Silver Key for art or writing, the students who received the highest level of recognition, the Gold Key, are Celine Abello, Kernell Vilamor, and Caelen Walker.

These students will go on to be judged at the national level for a chance at receiving a Scholastic medal.