Sixteen Cypress Ranch students were honored at the Annual Scholastic Art and Writing Awards on Tuesday, Feb. 24. These students were part of the 1,357 regional winners who were titled a either Gold Key Winner, Silver Key Winner, or Honorable Mention.

Seniors Louise Bondoc, Phillip Nguyen, and Christina Rios and junior Mikhaela Sarmineto were each named Gold Key winners, which is the highest award offered.

This was the second Gold Key award for Bondoc this year, this time for her digital art piece titled Beard. The piece was inspired by another Cy Ranch student, senior Sahaj Singh. The piece shows a Sikh man with a turban and long beard, and inside the beard are many faces peeking out.

“People make assumptions about him [Sahaj Singh] and his religion, but the faces show there’s more to him than that,” Bondoc said.

On Monday, Mar. 16, the finalists for this year’s Scholastic Art and Writing Awards will be announced. These students will then advance to the national competition in New York City.

This is Bondoc’s fourth year participating in the art awards, last year she was given the opportunity to travel to New York City where she was awarded a national gold medal.

“It would be really great to go back to New York because it was just such a great experience,” Bondoc added.