Pennsbury Sophomore Wins Top Honors In Scholastic Art & Writing Awards

Katia Barricklow, a 10^th grader from Pennsbury High School, received a Gold Key from the prestigious 2016 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards for an essay entitled, “True Threat or Distasteful Rap? Supreme Court to Rule Soon In Important Online Free Speech Case.” Originally published as an op-ed in the Bucks County Courier Times, Katia’s article was based on research she did during her freshman year ethics class.

Some 685 students from across the Philadelphia region (Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, Philadelphia) submitted their writing in this year’s Scholastic contest. Katia, who is a teen reporter for Bucks County Courier Times award-winning reality section, which appears every Friday, won the only Gold Key award for journalism in the region. Katia and other Scholastic award winners were honored by the Philadelphia Writing Project and the Philadelphia Arts and Education Partnership at a ceremony and reception at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia on Saturday, March 12, 2016. The 2016 award marked Katia’s second Gold Key win for writing. She also took top honors in 2014 for persuasive writing.

Besides writing, Katia, a 15-year-old Yardley resident, enjoys taking art photographs and for the second year in a row, she was named a finalist in Photographer’s Forum’s “Best of College and High School Photography 2016” contest for her black-and-white photo, “Love Me for Me,” which was selected from over 14,000 entries. This same photograph also received honorable mention in the 2016 Scholastic Art & Writing contest.

The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards contest is considered the most prestigious competition and largest source of scholarships for creative teenagers in the United States. Students’ submissions are blindly adjudicated by leaders in the visual and literary arts, some of whom are past award recipients. All art and writing submissions are judged based on the program’s three criteria: originality, technical skill and emergence of personal vision or voice. Since its founding, the Awards have established a solid track record for identifying the early artistic talent. Alumni include artist Andy Warhol, poet Sylvia Plath, writer Truman Capote and photographer Richard Avedon.