For talented student artists to be recognized for their exceptional work, the Scholastic Alliance for Young Artists and Writers provides a golden yet highly competitive opportunity.

The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards acknowledges students with advanced artistic talents at both the regional and national levels. Students submit their pieces with the possibility of receiving an award. Rewards include a certificate, a ceremony held at the Detroit Institute of Arts and their artwork being displayed at the College for Creative Studies. Representing Grosse Pointe South at the national level is Grace Lindsay ’23, who was awarded the Scholastic Silver Medal for her short story piece called “The Heart that Beats at Sea”.

“The (short) story is about a woman finding her heart, metaphorically and literally. It’s also an allegory–she gave her hope to somebody that she was in love with and they threw it away,” Lindsay said.

Lindsay said she wrote the short story in her free time, without direction or assignment.

“Any kind of art is open to interpretation to some degree, but for me, I wrote it mainly about a more personal experience,” Lindsay said. “It was part of the healing process for me being able to get that hurt out, but make something good out of it.”

Lindsay submitted her work for fun and didn’t expect the outcome she received.

“I was in shock in a good way because I was very proud of myself and my work,” Lindsay said.

Although Lindsay doesn’t plan on continuing writing as a professional career, she’s interested in still incorporating it into her life.

“I do like writing and it’s something I want to be able to do, just probably not a full-time thing,” Lindsay said.

When asked, Lindsay advised those promising artists who may want to win an award for their work to not be afraid of submitting and chase the opportunity.

“I think just go for it because you never know,” Lindsay said. “You don’t want to be left with the ‘oh what ifs’, meaning ‘what if I just had submitted that,’ which is probably something students hear a lot, but it’s true.”