Haley Cochran, a 2014 graduate of Falls City High School, has received a National Medal from the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers for a painting (right) she created as a high school senior last spring. 
The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards is the nation’s highest honor for creative teens. It has been in existence since 1923 and showcases the best of the best work of American students. In 2014 an approximaterecord-breaking 255,000 pieces of original student work from across the nation and American schools abroad were submitted for consideration for regional and national awards. Of the top regional winners, more than 17,000 went on to compete at the national level. Work was judged by professional artists, authors, critics, educators based on originality, technical skill and the emergence of a personal vision or voice.
“It’s pretty much like being a National Merit Scholar in the world of art,” Haley’s high school art instructor at FC High, Gayle Weinert, said. “It’s a very big deal.”
National Medals were awarded to 2050 students and were celebrated during the annual National Ceremony at Carnegie Hall in New York City this past summer. This year’s National Medalists join an impressive legacy of notable Scholastic Art Awards recipients including Truman Capote, Andy Warhol, and Lena Dunham. Though she didn’t attend, Haley’s work was among the fewer than one percent of all submissions chosen to be honored at this event.
Haley is the daughter of Gary and Tina Cochran, of Verdon.
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