Lehman High School’s Jeremiah Flynn was honored for a design he entered into the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards Competition last January. The ceremony was held at Carnegie Hall. (Courtesy photo)
by JIM CULLEN
Lehman High School’s Jeremiah Flynn, who just finished his junior year, did it with a memorable flourish, being one of 800 teens from across the country honored at the 88th annual Scholastic Art and Writing Awards at New York City’s Carnegie Hall.
“The trip was an excellent experience for me,” Jeremiah says. “I was excited about seeing different places that I haven’t seen before. The art district, with all of the galleries, and the ceremony at Carnegie Hall, were two of the highlights,” he adds.
The young artist received the recognition by virtue of having received a gold medal at the state competition last January. A number of local students were gold medalists, their entries automatically being entered into the competition for national recognition. Flynn’s entry in the Design category was the sole entry honored at the national level and gave the district its second such honoree in consecutive years. Lehman graduate Jared Rodriguez was so honored in 2010.
According to its website, the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, sponsored by the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers, “is the oldest and most prestigious national program offering early recognition and scholarships to creative teenagers.” More than 185,000 initial submissions in 29 categories that included poetry, humor, novel writing, painting, sculpture, photography and video game design were considered and nearly 1,500 students in grades 7-12 were chosen as national medalists.
Additionally, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg declared May 31 the official Scholastic Art and Writing Awards Day and the top of the Empire State Building was lit in gold light in honor of the students’ achievements.
As for Jeremiah, who was accompanied on the trip by his mother, Lehman art teacher Debra Flynn, the trip “didn’t disappoint.” His mother and teacher says, “We were able to do some of the Scholastic panel picks, and it was a ‘not so normal’ look at New York that included a visit to the Chelsea Art District, where the streets are filled with museums and the neighborhoods are so interesting.” She adds that the awards ceremony featured appearances from Whoopi Goldberg, Tony Hawk and other distinguished artists, and that she and Jeremiah attended the screening and viewed the event’s film and animation winners.
All in all, it was heady stuff, certainly an experience Jeremiah would like to repeat. Noting “a lot of incredible work there from across the country,” he admits he’s glad his artwork caught the attention of the Scholastic panel and makes his commitment for the year to come. “The trip has inspired me to go for gold this coming year,” he says – and one has the impression he means to do it.
