Creative Negaunee Teens Recognized at Carnegie Hall

Two Negaunee High School students were among the national winners of the 2026 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards recognized at a June 10 ceremony at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Miles Spaulding won the American Visions Award in art for his painting, "Photographic Memory" and Reese Collins won an American Voices Award for her poem, "The Blooming of Difficult Times." They had advanced from a regional competition sponsored by the U.P. affiliate of the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, a partnership between the Northern Shores Storywork Writing Project at Northern Michigan University and NMU's DeVos Art Museum.

The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards are the nation's longest-running and most prestigious recognition program for creative teens in grades 7-12. More than 330,000 works of art and writing were submitted for adjudication at the regional level in the awards' 28 creative categories. Negaunee teachers Kimberly Shefchik and Lacey O'Donnell accompanied their students to Carnegie Hall.

To create his Gold Medal work, Spaulding used acrylic, paint, marker and pencil. It represents his paternal grandmother, who recently passed away.

"With this piece, I wanted to portray the way the photos captured all of her life and memories, as well as my feelings during this experience," said the NMU-bound Spaulding, whose dad Jay attended the ceremony and was deeply moved by what the painting represents to him and his family. "More than anything, however, I wanted to honor and portray how I still see and grieve her, as a quilt of different versions of herself."

Reese Collins received a Gold Medal for her poem, "The Blooming of Difficult Times":

When winter comes, I lie awake, blanketed by crystals overhead,

My petals frayed, the hue of rust, now a dull red,

But I'm still here, roots connected,

The air above, harsh yet almost reflective,

I hear a noise; there is water dripping.

I drink it in, gently sipping.

When winter ends, I pop my head out,

It always does, despite the whispers of lingering doubt,

For what I've gone through felt like the end, my petals always come back again

Golden Globe nominee and Tony Award-winning actor John Leguizamo was the keynote speaker at the national ceremony. He congratulated the teen artists and writers and said, "Finding your voice is everything." Leguizamo's high school classmate, the graffiti artist Crash, gave a talk at the educator's breakfast and said, "Support is everything" for young artists. He told stories about the teachers who supported his artistic journey. All participants received a copy of the book he and Leguizamo just published, Kiki and the Can.

All art and writing submissions are judged based on the program's three criteria: originality, technical skill and emergence of personal vision or voice. Student works are first adjudicated regionally through the more than 100 local affiliates of the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers.

"The Upper Peninsula is an inspiring place for creative teens, and I am passionate about providing access to regional and national awards for them," said Dr. Kel Sassi, English professor and director of the Northern Shores Writing Project Site at NMU, who also attended the national ceremony.

For more information about the Alliance, visit https://www.artandwriting.org.