Monday, May 19, 2025
An East Rockaway Junior-Senior High School student received an honor from the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, the longest-running recognition program for creative high school students across the country.
Jethro Jacquet, 17, earned a gold medal for his digital photograph titled, “Stalker,” which he created as part of a weekly photography challenge in his Introduction to Photography class.
He chose to explore the theme of awakening for the assignment, composing a striking portrait with dramatic lighting in a dark room.
The black-and-white photograph focuses on a wide-eyed Austin Mullings, a fellow junior in Jacquet’s class, with light illuminating his features and hair — creating a tense, almost eerie effect, which Jacquet calls “scary, yet intriguing.”
Jacquet's work stood out for its creative concept, color contrast and use of texture, but its initial submission stemmed from a personal competition against his friend, the photo’s subject, Mullings.
“I was just trying to beat him. I wasn't thinking too much about the awards, actually,” Jacquet said.
The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, established in 1923, received nearly 110,000 submissions from students this year.
The program has a history of honoring influential artists, including Truman Capote, Andy Warhol and Sylvia Plath.
Jacquet said he feels honored to be a fellow winner of accomplished artists, but he does not plan to pursue photography as a career.
“It’s fun to take the class, but I’m still figuring out what I want to do in the future,” he said.
Jacquet said he will continue developing his photography skills, with plans to take a college portfolio class next year.
Outside of his artistic pursuits, Jacquet remains active in sports: playing football, basketball and lacrosse for the school.
Jacquet’s medal marks the sixth national award received from students in East Rockaway Junior-Senior High School's photography class, taught by Kelly Cabasso and Kristie Galante.
Cabasso said what made Jacquet’s photo special wasn’t elaborate props or designs, but his ability to modify his natural surroundings to create art.
Galante agreed, and said she focuses on helping students improve their composition skills and understand that a great photo can be captured anywhere.
“You're going to take pictures the rest of your life, and you're going to create art whether you do it as a career or not,” Galante said. “So to just have those skills, and to enjoy it, is the point.”
Jacquet will attend the National Ceremony at Carnegie Hall in New York City on June 11 to celebrate his accomplishment.
As a national medalist, his photograph will be showcased in the online galleries at ArtandWriting.org and will also appear in the “Yearbook 2025” publication, which highlights the nation’s top young artists.
