Two outstanding 17-year-old Albert Einstein High School seniors received awards from the Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County (AHCMC) April 19 at the Betty Mae Kramer Gallery and Music Room in Silver Spring. Amal Haddad won the Fran Abrams Creative Writing Award and Astrid Dong, the Ida F. Haimovicz Visual Arts Award. Both are annual award competitions that are open to all county high school students.

Award recipients are “chosen based on scores and panel consensus,” explained Audrey Singer, AHCMC grants assistant. “When selecting panelists, we take into account race/ethnicity, gender, age, geography, and experience, among other factors, to ensure diversity.”

“Arts and humanities education enhances academic achievement across all disciplines and better prepares young minds for success in our 21st-century workforce,” noted Suzan Jenkins, AHCMC’s CEO. “AHCMC proudly empowers and encourages young, aspiring artists and scholars with the (two awards).”

Eleven students competed for the Abrams award, which celebrates its namesake’s 40-plus years of service to Montgomery County; for more than 20 of those years, Abrams worked with nonprofits that focus on early childhood education, arts and the environment. Accompanying the award are a cash prize, mentoring by a local professional author and readings by the winner and the author at the reception.

“I was very impressed with the caliber of applicants, both in terms of their writing and their involvement in literary activities within and beyond their schools,” said Abrams award panelist Tara Campbell, the professional editor and writer who also mentored Haddad and read at the reception. “It definitely was not a simple decision. There are some very thoughtful, talented young writers in this community, so it was hard to choose only one for the award. I hope they all keep writing and submitting.”

Her co-panelist Mia Cortez has “been pleased and impressed by the submissions since the first award season. The submissions range from poetry to personal essay to fiction, and they all offer a peek into the world of these young people… It’s important for small awards like this to be made available for our youth because it brings out the hidden talent we wouldn’t know of otherwise.”

Twenty applicants vied for the Haimovicz award, established by the late North Bethesda resident’s family, which provides financial aid to a student who plans to pursue a visual arts career. Haimovicz, who began sculpting at age 64, wanted deserving high school students to enjoy their creativity while still young. The award comes with a cash prize and a solo art exhibit—in Dong’s case, the multimedia “Wick and Limb” on view through Friday, June 29.

“All three panelists scored the winner (Astrid Dong) number one,” said William C. Richardson, a University of Maryland painting and drawing professor and art department chairman. “The winner is a remarkable young artist whose work and written responses were clearly the strongest. There was a lot of very good work, and we all remarked that it was difficult to give out only one prize.”

Both award winners answered CultureSpotMC.com’s questions about their work.

Amal Haddad, when did you first become interested in writing? Do you have family members who are writers and/or have encouraged you? What about a special teacher or program?

I can’t remember ever wanting to be something other than a writer, but I remember specifically my first-grade teacher at P.S. 81 in New York, Ms. Petrie, who encouraged my love of reading so much that every book I love feels like a gift from her. I’m endlessly thankful to my parents for always taking me to the library as a kid and letting me check out 15 books at a time, to my dad for making me read Kafka and Orwell in fifth grade even if I resisted back then, and, later down the line, to my mom for hunting down lists of obscure nonfiction I gave her at her university library.

I’m also indebted to my best friend Lucy Behr for giving the best reading recommendations and getting me to love poetry, and my English teacher, Ms. (Cynthia) Krauchi, for supporting my writing and teaching a fascinating class that has broadened the scope of what I read and how I think about literature

What does winning this award mean to you?

Honestly, it’s great to be validated! I’m weirdly private about my writing and hardly ever submit it to contests and winning this award has definitely made me more motivated to seek out open calls for magazine submissions and prizes.

What are your plans in terms of education and career?

I will be going to Swarthmore College next year where I plan to major in English and either Peace & Conflict Studies or Gender & Sexuality Studies. I hope to be a poet and a novelist (alongside something lucrative, unfortunately), and I’m interested in pursuing a PhD someday to become a college professor.

Astrid Dong, when did you first become interested in the visual arts? Do you have family members who are artists and/or have encouraged you? What about a special teacher or program?

I was interested in art at a very young age and it was mainly due to the educators that I have worked with in the years. My art teachers were always encouraging and validating. In middle school, I attended the Arts & Humanities Magnet Program at Eastern Middle School. From there, I was introduced to filmmaking. It was so inspiring, I pursued other pre-college programs at American University and School of Visual Arts in New York City.

From there, I knew that I wanted to continue on my path of specialized education and attend a high school for the arts. I applied to the Visual Art Center at Albert Einstein High School because I was drawn to the quality of work of the graduates of the program as well as the focused and open environment the teachers Ms. Walsh and Mrs. Harris created. They are truly two of the most hardworking and caring women I know.

As for my family, they encouraged my interest in art, but have actively tried to discourage any plans I had for pursuing art as a career. Which is, understandable. My applications to both magnet programs I have attended were hard to complete because I needed to spend months and even years convincing them. However, I do appreciate them greatly for reconsidering and coming around.

What does winning this award mean to you?

It is incredibly validating and exciting. It means a lot to me to be able to bring my parents into the gallery and comfort their anxieties about my future. What Ida Haimovicz’s life story and legacy instilled in me was the importance of acting on your passion and to take risks to pursue what you love.

I think finding what you love can occur at any age in your life. For her, it may have been later, but for me and the other talented and prestigious previous recipients of this award, our time is now. Whenever passion is found, it should be pursued. This is a message that resonated with my determination to pursue a career in the arts and also one that moved my parents and their support of my future.

What are your plans in terms of education and career?

I will be one of 30 students entering the Purchase College Film Conservatory in the fall where I will be pursuing a BFA in Film Production and Directing. I hope to tell stories about identities that are less represented and untold.

The Fran Abrams Creative Writing Award and Ida F. Haimovicz Visual Arts Award are both managed by the Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County.