Midway High School artists earned top honors at the Texas Art Education Association State Visual Arts Scholastic Event (VASE) Contest on April 25 at San Marcos High School, bringing home six prestigious Gold State Medals and showcasing the exceptional talent within Midway’s art program.
The state success came after an impressive showing earlier this spring at the Region VASE Contest held March 7 at Killeen High School. Midway High School advanced 24 entries from Region to Area competition — three more than last year — with 11 entries representing 10 student artists ultimately qualifying for the state contest.
The annual High School VASE competition recognizes exemplary student artwork and challenges students to demonstrate both artistic skill and creative understanding through artwork submissions and juror interviews. Midway students once again rose to the occasion, delivering an outstanding display of creativity, craftsmanship, and artistic expression throughout the competition season.
The first VASE event was held in 1994 with just over 400 student entries, but now celebrates over 35,000 entries nationwide. Students create artworks, write about their creative processes and understanding of visual art, and articulate information about their artwork during an interview with a VASE juror, who evaluates their work using a standards-based rubric.
An enormous congratulations to the following talented MHS students who competed in the 2026 VASE State Contest:
• Maia Diaz, 10th - GOLD STATE MEDALIST
• Adam Eubank, 10th - GOLD STATE MEDALIST
• Eleanor Goodman, 10th
• Alyssa Griffin, 9th - GOLD STATE MEDALIST
• Walter Holsapple, 10th
• Lyla Murry, 10th - GOLD STATE MEDALIST
• Damita "DeeDee" Narongkachavana, 10th
• Emily Nguyen, 9th (qualified 2 separate pieces)
• Jeremiah Diondre Ocampos, 11th - GOLD STATE MEDALIST
• Elise Snider, 10th - GOLD STATE MEDALIST
Also, a huge shout-out to their Midway HS Art Teachers Kim Abercrombie and John Storm. Congrats all-around for such high achievements this year!
