April 9, 2019 - It all started with a digital camera and doodles scribbled in the margins of notebooks.
For Douglas Anderson seniors, Alyce Rogers and Joey Leppo, entry into the art world began early and simply. They are now nationally recognized artists – Rogers having won a national film award and Leppo being among 27 Duval County Public Schools students who won a Scholastic Art and Writing award this year.
Rogers won Best National Film at the 2019 CinéStudent Film Festival for her short film, Adam. The film tells the story of a struggling actor who has trouble finding age-appropriate roles because of his youthful looks. With the help of an agent, he lands a surprisingly fitting role.
Leppo was one of eight students in the country to be awarded the Scholastic Art and Writing Gold Medal award in the portfolio category. His works focus on different textures in two-dimensional art and depict various scenes of soldiers and war.
When asked how it felt to be a nationally recognized artists, Leppo’s cheeks flushed and he gave a wide smile.
“I haven’t really thought about it, but I’m proud of it,” said Leppo. “I’m happy. It’s a big thing!”
Rogers was also modest when talking about her latest honor, but expressed excitement as she reminisced about the first national award she ever won.
“I know exactly where I was,” said Rogers. “It was the summer before my junior year. I was in Orlando. We were in a hotel room, and I got an email saying that I won an award at a teen film festival, a small one, in Rochester, New York. I like screamed and just started jumping on the bed because I was so excited. I never imagined that happening!”
Congratulations to Rogers, Leppo and all of our nationally recognized artists. This includes the five Scholastic Art and Writing Gold Medal Award winners – Asia Walker, Conor Naccarato, Joey Leppo, Indie DiMartino and Lauren Caudle – who will have their work on display at the Pratt Institute and Parsons School of Design in New York during the month of June.
A full list of the winners is below.
Gold Medal Winners
Lauren Caudle
Indie DiMartino
Joseph Leppo
Conor Naccarato
Asia Walker
Silver Medal Winners
Cielo Bessa Naomi Bierowski
Alexander Blaudow
Winnie Blay
Matthew Borz
Lauren Caudle
Ashley Chatmon
Kenneth Chism
Emory Cook
Maria Cortina
Sainz Za'Nya Davis
Isaac Dunavant
Charlene Elvir
Camille Faustino
Sheenay Gay
Ava Goode
Erica Lehosky
Jersey Long
Flavia Murillo
Jazmyn Nidiffer
John Owen
Samuel Pabon
Sadie Ponicall
Hugo Rodriguez
Isabelle Safine
Emily Stiles
Sena Suganuma