San Marin High School students Daria Hoang, Jane Williams, Cate Guempel, and Caroline Baetkey won awards in the 2015 Western Region Scholastic Arts & Writing Contest, competing against high school students throughout the Western United States.

Daria Hoang won multiple awards including a Gold Key in the Personal Essay/Memoir category, a Gold Key and Silver Key in the Poetry category, a Silver Key in Flash Fiction, and an Honorable Mention in Journalism.

Jane Williams won a Gold Key in the Critical Essay category for an essay she wrote in her sophomore English class entitled “The Stigma Toward Mental Illnesses.”

Cate Guempel won a Silver Key in the Journalism category for her article entitled “Equity in Education.”

Caroline Baetkey won an Honorable Mention in the Critical Essay category for an essay she wrote in her sophomore English class entitled “Nuclear Weapons: National Defenders or Global Villains.”

Hoang is currently the News Editor of the Pony Express, San Marin High School’s student newspaper.  Williams, Guempel and Baetkey are reporters for the paper.

Gold Key winners Hoang and Williams will now be entered in the contest’s National Awards competition.

Scott MacLeod, English and Journalism teacher at San Marin High School said, “I’m so proud of these kids.  They’re passionate about what they write about, and it shows in the quality of their work.”

Dating back to 1923, the Awards have become the longest-running, most prestigious recognition program for creative teens in the U.S., and the nation’s largest source of scholarships for creative young artists and writers. A noteworthy roster of past winners includes Sylvia Plath, Truman Capote, Richard Avedon, Robert Redford, Joyce Carol Oates, Stephen King, John Updike, and many more.

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Photo: Cate Guempel, Daria Hoang, Jane Williams, Caroline Baetkey