Education

Eight Katy ISD Students Earn National Honors in Prestigious Arts Competition

July 22 2024

Following in the footsteps of some of the nation’s most accomplished artists and authors, eight Katy ISD students earned national medals in the 2024 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Among the winners, five students earned gold medals and three students earned silver medals.

The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards is one of the longest-running arts competitions in the country for teens, and boasts alumni who have gone on to be luminaries in art, fashion design, filmmaking and writing, including authors John Updike and Stephen King, artist Andy Warhol, and fashion designer Tracy Reese.

“Katy ISD is represented yearly among the national medalists and these students continue to be exemplars of our District’s Fine Arts programs,” said Damon Archer, Executive Director of Fine Arts. “I would also like to recognize their teachers for their work in helping to support these young artists.”

The students advanced from this year’s regional competition, facilitated by the Harris County Department of Education, and were among the sixty-one Katy ISD students to being considered for national honors.

Name	School	Award & Medium
Aerial Chen	Seven Lakes High School	Gold Medal in Film & Animation
Haofei Deng	Tompkins High School	Gold Medal in Photography
Valeria Dumitrascu	Jordan High School	Gold Medal in Painting
Michelle Lee	Cinco Ranch High School	Gold Medal in Drawing & Illustration
Ziyun Yu	Seven Lakes High School	Gold Medal in Photography
Zoe Guthrie	Jordan High School	Silver Medal in Sculpture
Sahara Karmaker	Seven Lakes High School	Silver Medal in Film & Animation
Yule Yi	Jordan High School	Silver Medal in Drawing & Illustration