Eight High School Students Earn Top Honors at 2025 State Visual Arts Contest

Eight Rockwall ISD high school students recently earned top honors at the 2025 State Visual Arts Scholastic Event (VASE), the largest student art competition in the nation, including the prestigious Gold Seal Award.

Sponsored by the Texas Art Education Association (TAEA), VASE celebrates original student artwork and fosters creativity, critical thinking, and artistic expression. Approximately 35,000 high school students participated in this year’s VASE, beginning with regional competitions held across the state. Top-rated artworks from each region advanced to the State level, where they were evaluated by panels of professional artists and educators. This year, 2,362 students advanced to the State VASE competition.

At the State level, students receive another rating on a scale of 1 to 4. A rating of 4 indicates the highest level of excellence, recognizing both technical skill and personal voice. This year, only 1,356 students statewide earned this prestigious rating—just 4% of all entries.

We are proud to recognize the following students who advanced to State VASE and earned a Rating of 4:

• Brynley Hergert (Rock 9)
• Lauren Duffy (RHS)
• Zoe Kloiber (RHS)
• Tomas Lucero (RHS)
• Emma Perry (RHS)
• Hanae Long (Rock 9)– Two artworks advanced to State
• McKinley Martin (RHS)– This marks the third consecutive year McKinley has earned a State VASE medal

From this elite group, a small number of works are selected for the prestigious Gold Seal Award, the highest honor in the competition. Gold Seal artworks are considered among the best student pieces in the state and are included in a traveling exhibition that tours Texas museums, universities, and galleries. This represents less than 0.5% of all entries.

•  Nicholas Marcel Jean-Pierre (RHHS) earned a Gold Seal. This is the second Gold Seal for Nicholas.

Congratulations to these outstanding student artists for their dedication and achievement!