Long Beach High School student Chrysalis Mandell has again earned a Scholastic Art and Writing Awards National Medal. She achieved Silver for her portfolio of poetry after earning Gold last year. The school has celebrated National Medalists for at least six consecutive years and students annually receive Gold and Silver Key awards as well as Honorable Mentions. 

In addition to her medal, Chrysalis achieved a Gold Key award for the poem, “Organized Chaos” and Honorable Mentions for poems, “My Daughter Will Be Indigo” and “A Brief Study of Those I Work With.” Lucia Techera earned a Gold Key for the poem, “The Janitor and His Son,” a Silver Key for the poem, “The Story of a Mouse and Her Mother” and Honorable Mentions for poems “The House and the Boy and the Night” and “Hey Babe.” 

Lauren Bulik secured a Gold Key for a poem titled, “The Breakup,” and Uma Arengo and Alyscia Batista received Silver Keys for their respective poems, “Autumn Dawn” and “Home Sweet Home.” Honorable Mentions in the poetry category went to Sarah Conway for “Children of the Universe” and Esther Molloy for “Warmth” and “Rosemary and Sage,” while other Honorable Mentions went to Ava deBruin for the personal essay, “The Cutchogue House” and Julia Silverberg for a short story titled, “Pelvis et Umbra Sumus.”

According to the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers, which presents this awards program, Gold Keys represent the very best works submitted to local programs, Silver Keys indicate stand-out works that demonstrate exceptional ability and Honorable Mentions are accomplished pieces that show great skill and potential. National Medals are the highest honors on the national level.