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Dozens of RE students win recognition for art or writing

Five Ransom Everglades students – Taylor Smith '25 (photography), Patrick Keedy Brown '26 (poetry), Connor Alfonso '26 (humor), Misha Gowda '28 (poetry) and Vinay Rajadhyaksha '30 (digital) – won Gold Keys in the 2025 Regional Scholastic Art and Writing Awards contest, headlining a huge contingent of RE student-writers and student-artists on both campuses that won recognition. Sixteen students earned Silver Keys and 22 won Honorable Mention in the southern region.
Smith, Keedy Brown and Alfonso each won major and multiple awards:
  • Smith claimed four Gold Keys, three Silver Keys and one Honorable Mention
  • Keedy Brown earned two Gold Keys, three Silver Keys and two Honorable Mention
  • Alfonso was named an "American Voices Nominee" and also won a Silver Key and three Honorable Mention awards
All Gold Key winners advance to the national competition, and Alfonso will also contend for the prestigious American Voices award for his humor entry, "A Day at McSub King." 

RE's Silver Key winners: Connor Alfonso '26, Patrick Keedy Brown '26, Taylor Smith '25, Santiago Gil Rivero '26, Pippa Yeo '27, Olivia Gomez '27, Michael Kong '28, Sylvie Malvezzi '27, Kayra Serpenguzel '25, Alexander Tevelow '28, Sophia Biss '26, Nina Galinsky '26, Maya Lee-Schonfeld '30, Noah Lopes '30, Matthew Pomeraniec '29 and Ziwuan Wang '29.

RE's Honorable Mention: Connor Alfonso '26, Patrick Keedy Brown '26, Kayra Serpenguzel '25, Taylor Smith '25, Tang Li '30, William Phillips '29, Maya Jessica Sigelman '30, Noelle Dubose '28, Jack He '25, Neva Ilica '28, Olivia Karp '27, Misha Gowda '28, Lily Namias '25, Latrice Nelson '25, Charlie Sender '26, Pippa Yeo '27, Sophia Biss '26, Olivia Barrack '29, William Earle '29, Maya Morlacchi '29, Tula Thompson '29, Gabby Torres '29.

More than 110,000 teens across North America submitted some 340,000 original works in 28 different categories for the 2025 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, which have presented since 1923 by the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers. RE's winners have learned from many exceptional teachers at RE in the arts and humanities.

See the full list of honorees with details about their awards below:

GOLD KEYS
Taylor Smith '25Gold Keyx3 winner in PhotographyOne and the Same, Soarin’, Truth
Taylor Smith '25Gold KeyPortfolio (Art)
Patrick Keedy Brown '26Gold Keyx2 winner in PoetryThis is Not a New Story; Chead Chaisc, Ansin Earrach
Connor Alfonso '26Gold Key, American Voices NomineeHumorA Day at McSub King
Misha Gowda '28Gold KeyPoetryThe Color of Me
Vinay Rajadhyaksha '30Gold KeyDigitalHiding Behind the Mask

SILVER KEYS
Patrick Keedy Brown '26Silver Keyx3 PoetryExit-Wound (Prelude), Rabbit Theory, Tale of the Horses
Taylor Smith '25Silver Keyx3 winner in PhotographyCount to Three, Marketplace, Unlikely Home
Santiago Gil Rivero '26Silver Keyx2 winner in PhotographyDesert Ride, Thirsty Swan
Pippa Yeo '27Silver Keyx2 winner in PhotographyAmerican BBQ, Through the Fence
Connor Alfonso '26Silver KeyScience Fiction & FantasyPrice of Progress
Olivia Gomez '27Silver KeyPoetryMy DNA
Michael Kong '28Silver KeyPoetryEchos of Love and Laughter
Sylvie Malvezzi '27Silver KeyDramatic ScriptGoodbye, Katie
Kayra Serpenguzel '25Silver KeyPersonal Essay & MemoirSonsuzluk
Kayra Serpenguzel '25Silver KeyCritical EssaySpeculative Fiction as a Mirror for
Contemporary Cultural
Erasure
Alexander Tevelow '28Silver KeyPersonal Essay & MemoirWhat country should all Americans visit before they turn 30? - Japan
Sophia Biss '26Silver KeyPhotographyStill Waters
Nina Galinsky '26Silver KeyPaintingOlives in Still Life
Maya Lee-Schonfeld '30Silver KeyDigital ArtStaring into Space
Noah Lopes '30Silver KeyDigital ArtAn Alternate World
Matthew Pomeraniec '29Silver KeyPhotographyHope in the Hopeless
Ziwuan Wang '29Silver KeyDigital ArtNonsensical Parrot

HONORABLE MENTION
Connor Alfonso '26Honorable MentionScience Fiction & FantasyKnowing
Connor Alfonso '26Honorable MentionShort StoryMona Lisa's Smile
Connor Alfonso '26Honorable MentionNovel WritingWanderers
Patrick Keedy Brown '26Honorable Mentionx2 PoetryFlorida, As Seen by the Gods, Sestina with Envoi as Matthew's Prayer
Kayra Serpenguzel '25Honorable Mentionx2 PoetryGold Coin, Past Lives
Taylor Smith '25Honorable MentionPhotographyDisjointed Dragonfly
Tang Li '30Honorable MentionShort StoryTill Death Do We Part
William Phillips '29Honorable MentionShort StoryWedding Cake Island
Maya Jessica Sigelman '30Honorable MentionPoetryWhispered Dreams
Noelle Dubose '28Honorable MentionFlash FictionDivided, Not United
Jack He '25Honorable MentionPoetrySeparation Is Sinusoidal
Neva Ilica '28Honorable MentionPoetryButterflies
Olivia Karp '27Honorable MentionJournalismThe Unstoppable Coach Hamm
Misha Gowda '28Honorable MentionPhotographyTension in the Ties
Lily Namias '25Honorable MentionPaintingOcean Drive
Latrice Nelson '25Honorable MentionPhotographyForgotten Victims
Charlie Sender '26Honorable MentionDigital ArtThe Glitch
Pippa Yeo '27Honorable MentionPhotographyMonopoly of Life
Sophia Biss '26Honorable MentionPhotographyThe Flow of Life and Space
Olivia Barrack '29Honorable MentionPhotographyQuick Fix, City Light Scenery
William Earle '29Honorable MentionPhotographyThe Eye of Truth
Maya Morlacchi '29Honorable MentionPhotographyA Hand from the Shadows
Tula Thompson '29Honorable MentionPhotographySilent Steps
Gabby Torres '29Honorable MentionPhotographyLeftovers

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Founded in 1903, Ransom Everglades School is a coeducational, college preparatory day school for grades 6 - 12 located on two campuses in Coconut Grove, Florida. Ransom Everglades School produces graduates who "believe that they are in the world not so much for what they can get out of it as for what they can put into it." The school provides rigorous college preparation that promotes the student's sense of identity, community, personal integrity and values for a productive and satisfying life, and prepares the student to lead and to contribute to society.