It’s well known that there are very talented writers around Rosary’s campus.

Two juniors, Anna Jordan and Sabrina Piazza, recently entered a writing contest hosted by the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, the nation’s longest-running, most prestigious recognition program for creative teens. 

Both students were recipients of the Scholastic Writing Awards. 

Anna Jordan won the Silver Key Award in the Science Fiction & Fantasy Category with her story titled “Other and Another.” According to the website, entrants for this category were tasked with submitting “[w]riting that uses supernatural, magical, futuristic, scientific, or technological themes as key elements of the narrative.”

Jurors judge works based on originality, technical skill, and the emergence of a personal voice or vision. As it turns out, Anna’s story had just what they were looking for.

“Other and Another,” Anna shared, is “about 4D beings choosing to become humans so they can experience love in 3D.”

When asked what inspired her to write her story, Anna said, “I wrote my story during the beginning of the school year because I was inspired by a song called ‘Lambs Wool’ by Foster the People and daydreamed about it while driving to and from school. I’ve got a weird imagination, but I guess it worked out! I’m also a massive science nerd, so I was really passionate about the subject.”

Anna also shared, “I’m just happy that they enjoyed my story because I have a lot of pride in what I write. Award or not, I like knowing that my work is interesting!”

Now that Anna has won an Award, she is eligible to receive scholarships from the non-profit organization. She concluded with one final piece of advice, “Writing contests may seem intimidating, but they’re always worth a shot!”

Sabrina Piazza received an award in the Personal Essay and Memoir Category. Because of her talent and meaningful well-written piece, she received a high distinction. Sabrina was excited to share more information on her deserved achievement. 

The contest by the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers is an amazing opportunity to receive recognition for written works. Sabrina discussed more on her thoughts before entering the competition. She mentioned, “I decided to enter in the fall of junior year, but I heard about it my second semester of sophomore year. I thought it would be a great opportunity.” The contest certainly provides a chance for gifted teenagers to share their work with others and receive awards. 

The Personal Essay and Memoir category requires young writers to create a non-fiction piece and allows for the important expression of authentic life events. Sabrina shared more on her writing process. She said, “I did not have a prompt for my essay because you can really write about anything in the Scholastic Contest. I just wrote about something personal to me.” 

Talented writer Sabrina expanded more on her sentimental topic. She shared, “I wrote a piece called ‘Living After Death.’ ‘Living After Death’ is a short memoir about dealing with my lola’s death. Lola is the Tagalog word for grandmother.” 

She felt overjoyed after being recognized for her memoir. She commented more on the rush of emotions she felt, saying, “I was very relieved that I won because I wrote my piece during Gangler’s class that day it was due. I didn’t think I would get anything at all.” She continued, “I am so thankful I was awarded an Honorable mention. I am proud of my work.” 

The Scholastic Contest is a significant way for high school students to submit written works about various topics. Both Anna Jordan and Sabrina Piazza are brilliant writers. 

Congratulations to these wonderful students for their writing achievements!