The Arts Shine at USM

From earning gold medals at national awards to personifying a cheeseburger, USM students honed their creative expression through the visual and performing arts.

Anyah Jackson '20 Named National Gold Medalist

Anyah Jackson ’20 (pictured below) won a national gold medal at the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards for her submission in photography, titled “Will They Think He is Angry?” The piece won a Gold Key at the state level and then advanced to the national competition, where it was judged by industry experts on originality, technical skill, and the emergence of a personal voice or vision. A USM record-setting 27 students won a total of 48 state recognition awards in art from the competition, while five students won a total of four awards and three honorable mentions in the writing portion of the competition.

An Evening of Comic Proportions

The 6th grade ComicCon event, held in March, was a success on a grand scale. The annual event is the culmination of a collaborative unit amongst English, theatre arts, and visual arts classes where students write monologues and create superhero drawings focused on body proportion, muscle structure, and costume design. Students then performed their monologues in costume in front of guests.

Sam Eason ’26 (pictured above) used the opportunity to celebrate his love of cheeseburgers. His artwork and costume were inspired by the writing and performance work he did in his English and theatre classes.