Mississippi School of the Arts junior Amelia Whitaker, of Brookhaven, recently was awarded a Silver Key in the 2024 Regional Scholastic Writing Competition.

Junior and senior students across Mississippi received 99 total awards in the competition, and were recognized at a ceremony at the Eudora Welty House and Gardens in Jackson. 

MSA’s Literary program instructor is Dr. Nadia Alexis. Critical essays were submitted by MSA English/Literature students taught by Tobie Lambert.

Categories included critical essay, dramatic script, flash fiction, humor, journalism, novel writing, personal essay and memoir, poetry, science fiction and fantasy, short story, and for seniors only, writing portfolio — which is for a body of work. The submissions are juried by artists in the field. 

Among the thousands of writings submitted, only a small percentage will go to the national level. Jurors look for works that exemplify the Awards’ core values: originality, technical skill, and the emergence of personal voice or vision. American Voices and Gold and Silver Key recipients will advance to the national competition.

MSA is an 11th and 12th-grade visual and performing arts residential, public high school located in Brookhaven. Students not only meet and exceed the traditional Mississippi high school curricu-lum, they receive special instruction in visual arts, vocal music, dance, writing/literary arts, filmmaking/media arts and theatre. MSA also has a “Collegiate Academy” program where qualified students can earn their high school diploma and an associate degree at the same time at no cost. In addition to MSA students winning awards for their work on the state, regional and national levels, the school consistently has one of the highest ACT averages in the state. 

Students interested in MSA apply their sophomore year. MSA will conduct additional auditions for 10th graders interested in dance and theatre on June 4. 

MSA also offers a Summer Camp for rising eighth-10th graders with scholarships available.

For more information, visit www.msabrookhaven.org or call 601-823-1300.