Salisbury High School’s Autumn Binder was awarded a Gold Key for her painting, Split.

Nine Lehigh Career & Technical Institute students from six Lehigh County high schools have been named 2026 Scholastic Art & Writing Award winners.

They combined to win 17 awards, including three gold keys, five silver keys and nine honorable mentions. All of the winners are in their first or second year of studying Advertising Design/ Commercial Art at LCTI.

The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers runs the annual awards program to further its mission of identifying and supporting the next generation of creative voices. Each artistic work was reviewed and recognized by a panel of creative professionals, and awarded for its outstanding merit in originality, skill and the emergence of a personal voice and vision.

Berks, Lehigh, Northampton and Carbon county schools compete in the East Central Pennsylvania Art Region. The winners may exhibit their work at Kutztown University’s Miller Gallery and are invited to a March 1 awards ceremony also hosted by the college.

Lehigh Career & Technical Institute’s award winners are:

William Allen High School

Aliah Cruz Rone

• Silver Key: Memories, Painting

Mari Cubero (Class of 2025)

• Silver Key: The Painted Face, Illustration

Emmaus High School

Gracie Preston

• Honorable Mention: The Salmon Keeper, Illustration
• Honorable Mention: Prosperity, Illustration

Northwestern Lehigh High School

Leah Wellings

• Honorable Mention: Blooming Curiosity, Digital Painting, Drawing & Collage

Parkland High School

Lloyd Horodyski

• Honorable Mention: They’ve stolen our wings, Digital Painting, Drawing & Collage

An Le

• Gold Key: Before Either Of Us breaks, Photography
• Gold Key: Locked Eyes, Photography
• Silver Key: For Every Time I Didn’t Quit
• Silver Key: Mother Mary, Drawing
• Honorable Mention: Kintsugi Heart, Illustration

Salisbury High School

Autumn Binder

• Silver Key: Fulfillment, Illustration
• Gold Key: Split, Painting

Whitehall High School

Alex Hopple

• Honorable Mention: Vibrancy, Mixed Media

Lucas Wilk

• Honorable Mention: All work and no art makes a dull boy, Drawing
• Honorable Mention: The Striker, Illustration
• Honorable Mention: Abstraction of Mechanics, Illustration

Works that received a Gold Key at the regional level are automatically entered in the nationwide competition. National winners are announced in the spring.

Congratulations to all of the award winners! This is how we achieve! #weachieve

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