Funny Ha Ha: The High School Humor Challenge, Inaugural Alumni Council, & More

Announcing the 2015 Summer Series

Guess Who by Michaela Nickerson, Grade 10, Age 16, Phillips Exeter Academy, NH

Our Summer Series program is back for another summer of workshops, community, creative challenges, and more!

All summer, in locations thought the country, we will be providing free summer art and writing workshops for students in grades 7-12.

We've also partnered with national radio show Studio 360 to present Funny Ha Ha: The High School Humor Challenge, judged by artist and writer BJ Novak (The Office)!

Students can sign up to receive text and email updates about the Summer Series and the 2016 Scholastic Awards by going to www.artandwriting.org/summer-series-2015/awards-buzz/.

Former National Student Poet and Scholastic Awards Alum Michaela Coplen will be our summer guest blogger. For the next few weeks, Michaela will be blogging about the Summer Series, interning at the Scholastic Awards, and encouraging students to stay creative during summer vacation.

Introducing the Inaugural Alumni Council

Alumni Council Members pictured from left: Antonio Pulgarin ('07), Zara Kessler ('08), Molly Hensley-Clancy ('08), Tasha Garcia ('07), Iviva Olenick ('93), and Dionisio Cortes Ortega ('04)

Since its inception in 1923, thousands of students have received awards from the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Each of those students becomes part of the Scholastic Awards family, and we are proud to present our first Alumni Council, comprised of 13 Scholastic Awards alums. The Alumni Council is dedicated to helping us develop programs, events, and opportunities for alums of the Scholastic Awards.

Learn more about our Alumni Council, and ways you can participate, including contributing to their first-ever fundraising effort to benefit the Alliance!

2015 National Events Highlights

Guests viewing the Gold Medal works on display at the Art.Write.Now.2015 National Exhibition.

On June 10, hundreds of students and educators arrived in New York City for the Scholastic Awards' 2015 National Events, three days of exhibition, celebration, and fun! Our National Ceremony at Carnegie Hall, with special guests Whoopi Goldberg, Matthew Morrison, Chelsea Clinton, Michelle Tan from Seventeen magazine, 2015 Alumni Achievement Honoree Donald Lipski, artist Tom Otterness, poet Vijay Seshadri, and YouTube personality JennXPenn, was held on June 11. This year also saw the return of our popular Maker Prom, a night of dancing and creating for all of our National Medalists. National Events ended with a Student Showcase at the Art.Write.Now.2015 National Exhibition containing art and writing from the 2015 National Medalists.

Check out the National Events buzz here!

Spotlight on: Fort Wayne, Indiana

Students at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art's monthly Art Club series where students connect with their peers to talk inspirations, sketch prompts, and ways to be their best creative selves.

The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards works with more than 100 organizations nationwide to bring the Scholastic Awards to your region. These Local Affiliate Programs host ceremonies, exhibitions, and workshop opportunities for the students in their communities.

This month, we shine the spotlight on the Northeast Indiana/Northwest Ohio Scholastic Art & Writing Regions, which are overseen by the Fort Wayne Museum of Art.

The Fort Wayne Museum of Art has gone above and beyond to provide opportunities to their students and received a Gold Key for Excellence in the Field in 2013. Their special initiative, The Hope Gap, connects students from under-resourced schools to established artists who also attended under-resourced schools to provide mentoring and encouragement. Be sure to check out this month's Local Highlight to learn more about The Hope Gap, as well as additional programs for students at The Fort Wayne Museum of Art.