Six Peddie students won top honors in the Regional Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, announced on January 28. Isha Bhandaru ’21 (Expanded Projects, Mixed Media), Mehak Bhardwaj ’21 (Mixed Media), Clara Choi ’21 (Drawing & Illustration), Moon Ding ’22 (Digital Art), Yulia Gu ’21 (Short Story), Labeena Hanif ’21 (Personal Essay), Lisa Kogawa ’23 (Flash Fiction), Sean Lee ’22 (Architecture & Industrial Design, Digital Art), Seohyung Lee ’23 (Humor), Shruthika Padhy ’23 (Photography), Amartya Sharma ’21 (Critical Essay) and Richard Zhu ’22 (Poetry) received Gold Key distinctions, reserved for the most outstanding student writers in New Jersey. Their works will be considered for national-level recognition.

The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards have celebrated teen artists and writers since 1923. Thousands of entries are juried by luminaries in the visual and literary arts who look for works that best exemplify originality, technical skill and the emergence of a personal voice or vision. 

“These awards are a demonstration of the quality of our students, the superb work that Diku Rogers has done with our creative writing program, and the strength of writing as a whole at Peddie and in our English Department,” said Matt Roach, Chair of Peddie’s English Department.

The following Peddie students also received regional recognition:

Silver Key recipients

Isha Bhandaru '21, Expanded Projects
Moon Ding '22, Digital Art
Alyssa Hack '22, Photography
Labeena Hanif ’21, Personal Essay/Short Story
Seojin (Brian) Kim ’24, Critical Essay
Sean Lee ’22, Poetry/Short Story
Sukhroop Singh ’24, Critical Essay
Middy Vella '21, Sculpture/Mixed Media/Expanded Projects

Honorable Mention

Mehak Bhardwaj '21, Mixed Media
Moon Ding '22, Digital Art
Eiichi Fujiwara ’23, Critical Essay
Carol Ge ’22, Poetry/Painting
Alyssa Hack '22, Photography
Sean Lee ’22, Critical Essay/Painting/Drawing & Illustration
Seohyung Lee ’23, Flash Fiction
Shruthika Padhy '23, Photography
Andy Qin '23, Drawing & Illustration
Sukhroop Singh ’24, Poetry
Daniel Sung '22, Photography
Yi Yan ’23, Critical Essay/Short Story