Frisco ISD high school students brought home a record 11 Gold Seal medallions from the Texas Visual Art Scholastic Event (VASE). These students included Centennial’s own Jessica Nguyen and her portrait named “Shadows of Light,” created under art teacher Ashley Ham.

The Gold Seal medallion is given to only 150 of the most distinguished works of art created by high school students from across the state, and is the highest presented at the competition, which is hosted annually to recognize exemplary student achievement in visual arts. In all, 35 pieces of artwork created by FISD students achieved a rating of Exemplary and received a gold medal at the competition.

FISD advanced a total of 46 pieces of art to the state contest, more than a quarter of all the artwork advancing from the regional competition. Statewide, nearly 27,859 students participated in regional VASE events with 2,119 works qualifying for state.

Each work is evaluated by a jury that looks for originality of concept, technical expertise, understanding of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for visual art and the interpretation of the student’s stated intent.

You can view a presentation here of all the Gold Seal and Exemplary artwork.