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Chloe Cook

Sophomore Gillian Sellet competed at this year’s annual Scholastic art and writing awards. During this virtual event, Sellet won the Gold Key for her poem“Lingua Franca” and for her science/fantasy story “All That Remains”. 

The Scholastic art and writing awards recognize student talent in categories such as art, drawing, poetry, journalism and many more.

The Gold Key award signals first place at the regional level. It automatically qualifies Sellet as a consideration for a national award, which could provide scholarships along with cash prizes. 

“It was sort of surreal,” Sellet said. “I definitely wasn’t expecting both pieces to win at all, so it took a few minutes to sink in and then I was really excited.”

Sellet’s poem explained humanity’s relationship with language and how it affects personal relationships, while her short story was a post-apocalyptic story about a little girl whose guardian died and how she deals with that grief.

Many other students attended the Scholastic contest including junior Cooper Stone and sophomore Anwen Williams. Stone received honorable mention in the short story category with his story “Perfect Willow,” and Williams received honorable mention in the poetry category.

Stone’s short story explains the negative effects of striving to be perfect. Stone wanted to express a message that was meaningful in today’s society. 

Williams’s poem was about mental health and growing as time passes. She wanted to spread a clear message to those affected. 

All gold key winners for each category are nominees for a national award winner. The Scholastic National award winners will be announced Mar. 22.