America 250: Winners of American Heroes Student Art Contest honored at ceremony in Washington, DC

The winners of the Freedom 250 and National Endowment for the Humanities National American Heroes Student Art Contest were honored during a ceremony in Washington, D.C. on July 8.

For the contest, students chose an American hero from the National Garden of American Heroes, which includes men and women from all walks of life who have helped to shape our nation over the last 250 years and created an original, handmade two-dimensional artwork and a 200-word artist statement.  

There were three submission categories:

• Upper Elementary School Students (Grades 3–5)
• Middle School Students (Grades 6–8)
• High School Students (Grades 9–12)

The entries were reviewed by a panel of artists and educators who evaluated the submissions based on age-level artistic excellence and technical skill, creativity and innovation, relevance to the thematic pillars and submission requirements, and clarity and meaning of the artist statement.

The winner from each state and one parent or guardian were awarded airfare and hotel accommodations to attend the Great American State Fair on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., July 7–9. 

American Heroes Student Art Contest Regional, People’s Choice, and National Winners

American Heroes Student Art Contest state and territory winners

American Heroes Student Art Contest upper elementary school student winners (Grades 3–5):

Alabama — Emma Grace Hjelm, "Oakville's Hero" 

Alaska — Hulda Elisabeth Cox, "Freedom at Last" 

Arizona — Quinn Thyfault, "Louis Armstrong" 

Arkansas — Bailey Pacheco, "The Journey" 

California — Roy Kim, "The Spark of Ideas" 

Colorado — Deborah Reifschneider, "Desmond Doss at Hacksaw Ridge" 

Connecticut — Mika Amzallag-Yeger, "Peaceful and Hopeful Heroine" 

Florida — Sophia Vanlandingham, "The Man Who Lit America" 

Georgia — Vedika Patel, "First Footprints on the Moon"

Idaho — Josie Starr, "Beyond the Stars" 

Illinois — Faustina Irene Lasnoski, "Birthday Celebration"

Indiana — Cecilia Chrisman, "Amelia Earhart" 

Iowa — Shambhavi Singh, "Harriet Tubman - Leader of Freedom" 

Kansas — Isabelle Menard, "Johnny Appleseed"

Kentucky — Jackson Wheeler, "Edwin Hubble" 

Louisiana — Lilah Olivia Covher, "Red, Flight, and Flew" 

Maine — Odin S. Labonte, "The American Man" 

Maryland — Ruthie Deininger, "Jazz at Camp" 

Massachusetts — Yunqi Cai, "Chasing the Light - Tesla" 

Michigan — Elise Cook, "The Ross Home on a Summer Day" 

Mississippi — Annie McCoy, "Sojourner Truth" 

Missouri — Daniel Fronick, "Hit it Hard!" 

Montana — Mya Schatzel, "Lincoln's Legacy" 

Nebraska — Clara Fehringer, "Light through the Darkness" 

Nevada — Anabelle Pennington, "Sacagawea's View" 

New Hampshire — Tucker Knightly, "Underground Captains Meet" 

New Jersey — Sophia Heeyoung Lim, "A Seat of Courage" 

New Mexico — Mila Enrico, "Peace and Slavery" 

New York — Raeanna Smith, "The Holy Man" 

North Carolina — Gracyn Dudding, "Ansel Adams' Impressions" 

Ohio — Madalynn Gould, "William Clark" 

Oklahoma — Jana Sparks, "The Bird Collage" 

Pennsylvania — Mika Sameroff, "American Hero: Betsy Ross" 

Rhode Island — Lucy Agresti, "The Sky is Not the Limit" 

South Carolina — Theodore Brown, "Doolitte's Daring Attack" 

South Dakota — Roselle Hollie Grabitske, "The Trumpet of Louis Armstrong" 

Tennessee — Brendan Hennessey, "Strike Out Racism: Jackie Robinson" 

Texas — Jiyun Kim, "Her World Beyond Sight and Sound" 

Utah — Elizabeth Black, "Boston Massacre Recreated" 

Vermont — Cora Mier, "Sacagawea's Glow" 

Virginia — Sheyda Webster, "Remember the Ladies" 

Washington — Arliss Clack, "Siege of Vicksburg" 

Washington, D.C. — Claire Henger, "Culture and Cuisine" 

West Virginia — Ezra VanScoy, "250 Lincolns" 

Wisconsin — Mila Kavelaris, "Johnny Cash - Man in Black" 

American Heroes Student Art Contest middle school student winners (Grades 6–8):

Alabama — Leighton Medlin, "Good Ol' Blue Eyes"

Alaska — Konnor J. Kiddle, "Neil's View" 

Arizona — Aaratrika Mohanti, "The Light of Truth: A Tribute to Ida B. Wells-Barnett" Lucas Lobo, "United Heroes" 

California — Aadya Janesh, "Her Sky, Her Story" 

Colorado — Seaton Wood, "Walt and Mickey Go for a Ride" 

Connecticut — Emma Marzullo, "Freedom Calling" 

Florida — Lexi Weaver, "Midnight Ride" 

Georgia — Ellen Templeton, "Freedom in his Sight" 

Hawaii — Adrianna Tran, "Walt Disney" 

Idaho — Jimmy Chen, "Neil Armstrong: Small Step, Large Leap" 

Illinois — Ziyang Ma, "Honoring Audubon" 

Indiana — Mya Jones, "True American Hero" 

Iowa — Annalee E Kos, "May-Flower" 

Kansas — Austyn Hall, "Harriet Beecher Stowe"

Kentucky — Amber Bernard, "Kobe Bryant Looking Toward" 

Louisiana — Bailey Allison, "Lady Lindy" 

Maine — Luke Lord, "Trust Your Intuition" 

Maryland — Maria Mills, "Dr. Seuss"

Massachusetts — Iris Zhuo-Li, "In the Reflection" 

Michigan — Olivia Carol Heiler, "Sally Ride" 

Minnesota — Tate Kramer, "The Inventions of Benjamin Franklin" 

Mississippi — Truenne Speck, "Service to My Country" 

Missouri — Liliana Esparza, "Midnight Pop" 

Montana — Emery Penner, "Nikola Tesla" 

Nebraska — Violet Crowder, "At First Glimpse" 

Nevada — Sophia Skeehan, "Elizabeth's Death" 

New Jersey — Sarang Lee, "The Sound that Became America" 

New Mexico — Ysobella G Depala, "The Future of History" 

New York — Amber Wang, "Please Lord, Help Me Get One More" 

North Carolina — Solomon Brulet, "Through Darkness Comes Freedom" 

North Dakota — Eva Szklarski, "Math to the Moon" 

Ohio — Nandita Seshadri, "Amelia Earhart" 

Oklahoma — Gordon Bryan, "John Wayne" 

Pennsylvania — Adrianna Jane Hardison, "Painting the Dream" 

South Carolina — Penny Lattimore, "Our Faithful Hero" 

South Dakota — Jessa Van Zee, "Walt Disney" 

Tennessee — Minchan Kang, "Battle of Mobile Bay: David Farragut" 

Texas — Amelia Rose Frizzell, "The Voice for New Beginnings" 

Utah — Liam Gustavson, "He's Got the Wright Stuff" 

Virginia — Laurie Ma, "Dr. Seuss" Washington — Catherine Li, "Albert Einstein" 

West Virginia — Izabella King, "Davey Crockett" 

Wisconsin — Hosanna Peterson, "Gabby Gabreski: Ace of the Skies" 

Wyoming — Faith R. Gomez, "A Brave Educator" 

American Heroes Student Art Contest high school student winners (Grades 9–12):

Alabama — Aspyn Speake, "Elvis Presley: The Patriotic King" 

Arizona — Hannah Lofgren, "Mayo Family Legacy" 

Arkansas — Madeline Phillips, "Ride, Sally Ride" 

California — Alyssa Liu, "Clara Barton" 

Colorado — Charlize K. Wardle, "Buffalo Bill - The Face of the Frontier" 

Connecticut — Halana Ann Crowley, "Man in Black" 

Delaware — Abigail M. Lyons, "Signs of Life" 

Florida — Britian Major, "Unite Them" 

Georgia — Mia Elizabeth Cossick, "One More"

Illinois — Lilia Gregg, "The Conductor" 

Indiana — Liberty McDowell, "This Union Shall Endure" 

Kentucky — Bryson Andrew Snawder, "Edgar Allen Poe" 

Louisiana — Hailey Hudson, "Behind the Hero" 

Maine — Margaret R. Lynch, "Explorers of the New Frontier" 

Maryland — Etian Huang, "Admiral Gordon Chung-Hoon" 

Massachusetts — Samantha Wiggin, "America Embodied: A Portrait of Theodore Roosevelt" 

Michigan — Madison Imus, "Jesse Owens: American Olympic Inspiration" 

Minnesota — Aiden Schneider, "Reagan" 

Mississippi — Hailey Beth Boland, "To the Moon and Back" 

Missouri — Dylan Stewart, "The Little Colonel" 

Montana — Asher Hudson, "Good Night, Dear Heart" 

Nebraska — Jewel Denker, "Finite Peace" 

Nevada — Xavier Roodhouse, "Shattering the Sun" 

New Jersey — Serena Jung, "Rough Rider" 

New Mexico — Ibnijah Guerro, "Lincoln" 

New York — Maggie Jiang, "Teddy" 

North Carolina — Caleigh Conlin, "Carolton's Ride" 

North Dakota — Kinsee Huntimer, "Feathered Indian" 

Northern Mariana Islands — Jihun Park, "Just Hope" 

Ohio — Emma Liu, "The Conductor of Light" 

Oklahoma — Jonathan Riddle, "Golden Swan of the Osage" 

Oregon — Savanna Marcle, "Sit and Wait" 

Pennsylvania — Solomiia Zhukova, "All Men are Created Equal" 

South Carolina — Ruiwen Zhong, "Glory" 

South Dakota — Daniel R. Grabitske, "The Defender of Little Roundtop" 

Tennessee — Genesis Maier, "Kin-Ya-Onny-Beyeh" 

Texas — Rebecca Smith, "General Dwight D. Eisenhower" 

United States Virgin Islands — J'Leah Arielle Connor, "ˈhɪst̬ɚri" 

Utah — Jade Weeks, "Rugged Endurance" 

Virginia — Sadie Springhetti, "Partners" 

Washington — Clair Shipley, "Mother of the West"

Wisconsin — Amy Osborne, "Mark Twain"

America 250