Eleventh grader Rachel Wicker recently received a Golden Key Scholastic Writing Award for her essay on Tommy Orange's There There in the Critical Essay category. The piece is titled "Dangerous Sympathy: Significance of Non-Native Appeal to the 'Tragedy' of Native Americans."

“This is definitely exciting news in the English department,” says English teacher Kate Towery. “Rachel’s piece is quite possibly the best essay that I have read in my career at Athens Academy.”

The Golden Key awards are part of the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards Program and are presented by the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers as part of its annual contest. According to their website, all works receiving Gold Keys will move on to national judging in New York City and will be considered for national honors.

Rachel is the daughter of Kate and David Wicker of Athens.

According to a press release, the Alliance partners with more than 100 visual arts and literary arts organizations across the country to bring the Scholastic Awards to local communities. Teens in grades 7–12 apply in 28 categories of art and writing. According to the Scholastic website, during the 2023 program year, “participation was up 15% from 2022, with more than 100,000 teens from U.S. territories, Canada, and every state in the nation entering over 300,000 works of art and writing.”

Athens Academy is an independent, co-educational school for students in K3 through 12th grade, located on a beautiful 152-acre campus in Northeast Georgia. Now in its 57th year, Athens Academy pursues its mission of “excellence with honor” through academics, athletics, fine arts, and service and leadership. Ranked the #1 private school in Athens, #9 college prep school in the state of Georgia, and #1 private school in Northeast Georgia (Niche.com).

For more information, please contact Kelley Cuneo, communications director, at [email protected] or 706-433-2410.