Charcoal Creations: Susana Orrego’s Road to National Awards

“Hopeless Soul” earns scholastic recognition

Winter Carbajal, News Editor

February 19, 2025

“Hopeless Soul” by Susana Orrego

A Robinson student has been nominated for a national-level award after entering a piece into the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.

Susana Orrego (‘26) has won multiple awards for her artwork over the past few years. Her latest piece, “Hopeless Soul,” has been awarded a Gold Key award and nominated as one of five pieces nationwide to receive the prestigious National American Vision Award.

“I really thought I was going to win another honorable mention,” Orrego said. “And then when I opened the email and saw that I was going to get the American Vision nomination, I couldn’t believe it.”

Orrego has won Gold Key awards in the past. Entries that win a Gold Key are automatically considered for national-level awards, including Gold Medals, Silver Medals, scholarships, and the National American Vision Award.

Pieces nominated for the National American Vision Award, and other national-level recognitions, are then reviewed by national judges from the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Qualifying medalists are honored with a ceremony in New York City.

“I’ve had Susana for three years now, and she’s always just kind of been an outstanding art student and has really enjoyed making art,” Mary Wilson, Robinson’s art teacher said. “Susana is very self-motivated to enter contests and shows. She’ll come to me and ask me, ‘Are there any shows available for her to enter her work into?’ and I’ll send her the information.”

The piece, titled “Hopeless Soul,” did not begin with the aim of winning any contests.

“I started it not thinking that I was going to put it [towards] the competition,” Orrego said. “But Ms. Wilson told me a week before it was due to upload something, and that was the only piece I had started. So, I had to finish it… But it was just […] for fun when I started it.”

“Hopeless Soul” was made using charcoal and graphite on a large paper canvas.

“My mom always drew when she was my age and when she was little, and she always wanted me to and inspired me to draw. I can’t remember my life before art,” Orrego said.

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About the Contributor

Winter Carbajal, News Editor

Winter Carbajal is a junior at Robinson and the News Editor of the Knight Writers. This is his second year on staff and first year as an editor. Carbajal was drawn to journalism by a deep love of reading and writing, driven by an interest in journalistic nonfiction from authors such as Garrett Graff, and science fiction novels. These types of books coupled with a love for the news led Carbajal to journalism. Another draw to journalism, Carbajal noted, was his love for watching the news. "I've always liked watching the news and listening to news and following news media," Carbajal said. During Carbajal's time on staff, he has discovered a love for interviews and the portraits of people they provide. Despite the fact most of his interviews are over phone or email, Carbajal also enjoys getting out to interview people. He noted the changes his interview skills have gone through after being on staff for a year, in addition to his unexpected enjoyment of the interviews. Carbajal has also enjoyed writing general news stories as well as movie reviews. "I just like to talk to people and get their perspectives on a given thing," Carbajal said. His love for film extends into his writing, as his most successful stories are reviews of his favorite movies. "Those are pretty easy...talking about things I like," Carbajal said. Outside of his journalistic endeavors, Carbajal explores other aspects of his creativity, namely through fiction writing and visual art. In his visual art, he explores drawn landscapes, encompassing natural phenomena as well as architecture. About outside interests, Carbajal expressed a love for exploration and reading. A book Carbajal recently finished is Garrett Graff's Raven Rock: The Story of the U.S Government's Secret Plan to Save Itself. "I like to get engaged with different things. I like exploring," Carbajal said. Carbajal often finds ways to link these interests with his journalism, tying together his reading and writing skills.