The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, the country’s longest-running and most prestigious award and recognition program for creative teenagers, has announced its 2013 National Award recipients.

The Northwest Indiana and Lower Southwest Michigan Region had 17 students awarded national medals from a panel of distinguished judges. Among those honored were Nikki Abel and Lauren Snodgrass of Warsaw Community High School.

The students all submitted their work to the competition through the South Bend Museum of Art.

More than 1,600 of the most talented and ambitious students in grades 7-12, representing 47 U.S. states, as well as students in Washington, D.C., and American schools abroad, were chosen to receive national medals.

Students’ works were blindly adjudicated, first locally through the 116 affiliates of the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, the presenting nonprofit of the Awards, and then nationally by panels of judges comprised of renowned artists, authors, educators, and arts professionals.

Works were judged on originality, technical skill, and the emergence of personal vision or voice. Teachers of national winners were also recognized with awards.

This year marks the 90th anniversary of the awards and this year’s program attracted more participants than ever before. More than 230,000 submissions were received in 28 categories, including dramatic script, journalism, humor, novel-writing, science-fiction, as well as painting, sculpture, photography, fashion design, film and animation, and video game design, among others.

In the Northwest Indiana and Lower Southwest Michigan Region, the following students were honored:

• Joseph McNulty, American Vision Medal, Photography, Adams High School, South Bend
• Nikki Abel, Gold Medal, Photography, Warsaw Community High School, Warsaw
• Taylor Bontrager, Gold Medal, Photography, Elkhart Memorial High School, Elkhart
• Emily Crawford, Gold Medal, Photography, Concord Junior High School, Elkhart
• Mitchell Deren, Gold Medal, Photography, Clay High School, South Bend
• Slade Gorski, Gold Medal, Drawing, Washington High School, South Bend
• Schuyler Chiszar, Silver Medal, Drawing, Twin Lakes High School, Monticello
• Devyn Cooper, Silver Medal, Jewelry, Portage High School, Portage
• Vivian Crumlish, Silver Medal, Drawing, Private Art Tutoring (Kitty Gunty), South Bend
• Dana Dutcher, Silver Medal, Painting, Portage High School, Portage
• Abbey Kagel, Silver Medal, Photography, St. Joseph High School, South Bend
• Olivia Marr, Silver Medal, Photography, St. Joseph High School, St. Joseph, Mich.
• Breanne McNitt, Silver Medal, Photography, St. Joseph High School, St. Joseph, Mich.
• Melanie Miller, Silver Medal, Painting, Fairfield Junior-Senior High School, Goshen
• Ashley Piskor, Silver Medal, Photography, Michigan City High School, Michigan City
• Kimberly Scribner, Silver Medal, Painting, John Glenn High School, Walkerton
• Lauren Snodgrass, Silver Medal, Art Portfolio (Mixed Media), Warsaw Community High School, Warsaw

“This 90th year of the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards demonstrates just how vital the program is to America’s creative young people,” said Virginia McEnerney, executive director of the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers. “We received more entries than ever before, and the depth of talent from all across the country is astounding.

“In some cases, an award and its attendant scholarships can make the difference between whether or not a young writer or artist attends college. We are privileged to provide recognition and assistance to these deserving young people, and to celebrate the importance of arts education in American cultural life.”

This year’s National Celebration will kick off in New York City on May 31 when the Empire State Building will be illuminated in gold, and the LED super signs at 1515 Broadway in Times Square will feature the Awards throughout the day. That evening, national gold medal level winners will be honored onstage at a special ceremony at the world-famous Carnegie Hall.

In addition, for the first time ever, in celebration of the 90th Anniversary, the ceremony will be webcast live from Carnegie Hall. Select Award-winning art and writing will be exhibited at Parsons The New School for Design and the Pratt Manhattan Gallery through June 15. The exhibition and accompanying public programs are co-sponsored by the Sheila C. Johnson Design Center at Parsons The New School for Design.