NASAO Announces 2024 U.S. Youth Aviation Art Contest Winners

The National Association of State Aviation Officials (NASAO), in partnership with National Aeronautic Association (NAA), announced the winners of the 2024 U.S. Youth Aviation Art Contest. The judging was conducted by representatives from: Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association (AOPA) Foundation; Equus Flight Academy/US Alt. Delegate to the FAI Education Commission; NAA; NASAO; Signature Flight Support; and the National Air & Space Museum.

This year, NASAO received over 150 pieces of artwork depicting peace in air sports from nearly half of the country’s states and territories. The annual contest is part of a larger international effort to inspire youth to illustrate the importance of aviation through art. Contest submissions were grouped into three separate age categories for judging allowing students ranging from 6 to 17 years old to compete. The 2024 theme was “Air Sports for a Peaceful World” which encouraged students to create artwork demonstrating how air sports can bring people of different backgrounds together, forming friendships and making the world a better place.

To qualify for the national contest, all artwork was first submitted to state-level competitions with the winning entries advancing for national consideration. Judging on the national level was based on artistic ability and portrayal of theme. The national winners have been submitted for the 2024 International Aviation Art Contest which will be judged in June by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale.

View the winning entries here.

NASAO congratulates the 2024 U.S. Winners:

Junior Category:

  • 1st Place: Jasmine Lee | North Carolina, Age 9
  • 2nd Place: Jeremy Zhao | New York, Age 8
  • 3rd Place: Eric Shen | Virginia, Age 8

Intermediate Category:

  • 1st Place: Sophia Qu | Washington, Age 13
  • 2nd Place: Iris Xie | Virginia, Age 13
  • 3rd Place: Stephanie Fu | Texas, Age 13

Senior Category:

  • 1st Place: Isabel Chang | North Carolina, Age 17
  • 2nd Place: Jihyeon (Elly) Han | Kansas, Age 14
  • 3rd Place: Yeji Na | North Carolina, Age 17

Kim Stevens

Kim Stevens is the publisher of State Aviation Journal, which he founded in 2009. A longtime commercial-rated pilot, he was introduced to state aviation in 1992 as Director of the Nebraska Department of Aeronautics, later serving as Deputy Division Director for the Arizona Department of Transportation's Aeronautics Division. From 2013 to 2018, he was Director of Communications and Operations for the National Association of State Aviation Officials (NASAO) in Washington, D.C. Relocating to North Carolina, Kim worked for the Raleigh-Durham International Airport for two years and now concentrates solely on the Journal. Prior to his aviation career, Kim spent a decade in the newspaper and magazine business.