Wilbraham & Monson Academy – the global AND art school.
The 2016 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards honored nine students from the Academy Jan. 28. SungMin "Steve" Chu '16, Drew Morrison '16, Muyi "Jennifer" Zhao '16, Wilasinee "Bee" Daloonpet '16, Insun Kim '18, Celina Rivernider '19, Elias Skillings '17, Bingchen "Sam" Wang '16 and Wayne Wu '16 were recognized by the statewide competition.
"It shows the students are taking visual arts seriously, and they see this as a path toward college and going beyond to professional careers that it's not just an activity to do on the side to supplement academics," WMA Fine & Performing Arts Department Chair Paul Bloomfield said. "This is actually integral for a fair number of students."
For their gold key recognition, Steve and Drew advanced to the regional competition.
Steve earned three gold keys and an honorable mention, with his gold key total more than any WMA student in recent history.
"You won't find many students from any school who earned three gold keys," Mr. Bloomfield said.
Steve had two paintings and a drawing receive the competition's highest honor.
"I started to like art in middle school," Steve explained. "I enjoyed drawing and people told me I was talented. I then began to learn the details of drawing."
Drew entered a 3D bookshelf in the sculpture category. He gained his inspiration after visiting the Storm King Art Center in New York.
"I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out," said Drew, who won a gold key in the same contest in sixth grade. "I think if I had a little more time that it could be better and more functional. But it was interesting to see how the movement worked."
Jennifer earned a silver key in the fashion category, while Bee, Insun, Celina, Elias, Sam and Wayne were named to the honorable mention list.