{"id":34222,"date":"2026-02-16T17:42:28","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T17:42:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/?p=34222"},"modified":"2026-02-16T17:52:57","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T17:52:57","slug":"fly-to-save-lives-theme-inspires-2026-aviation-art-contest-winner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/state-news\/north-carolina\/fly-to-save-lives-theme-inspires-2026-aviation-art-contest-winner\/%20","title":{"rendered":"Fly to Save Lives Theme Inspires 2026 Aviation Art Contest Winner"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Artwork above – First place winner of the Senior Division: Soyoon Kim<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The N.C. Department of Transportation\u2019s Division of Aviation has announced the winners of the 2026 North Carolina Aviation Art Contest, an annual competition designed to inspire and engage young people in aviation through artistic expression.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
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2nd Place in the Intermediate level – Artist – Lexi McGrath<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

This year\u2019s theme, \u201cFly to Save Lives,\u201d challenged students to imagine how aviation and air sports can help save lives. From delivering food and medicine to fighting wildfires and rescuing people and animals in emergencies, aviation plays a vital role in making the world safer. Students were encouraged to illustrate these life-saving possibilities through their artwork.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe talent and imagination our students show each year is truly inspiring,\u201d said Nick Short, director of the NCDOT Division of Aviation. \u201cThe artwork submitted for this year\u2019s contest was exceptional. Through their creativity, these students captured the many ways aviation serves communities and saves lives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Participants competed within age-based categories. Winners were selected based on creativity, technical quality and how effectively their artwork reflected this year\u2019s theme. Judges carefully reviewed submissions from across the state, with artwork representing 45 counties and showcasing the incredible talent of students from every corner of North Carolina. The North Carolina Airports Association<\/a> sponsors the contest and provides cash prizes for state winners and their schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2026 North Carolina Aviation Art Contest winners:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Junior<\/strong> (born 2016-2019):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1st \u2013 Leia Scarborough of South Mebane Elementary School in Mebane<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2nd \u2013 Aaron Chen of Metrolina Regional Scholars Academy in Charlotte<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3rd \u2013 Enya Thomas of First Impressions Academy in Fayetteville<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intermediate<\/strong> (born 2012-2015):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1st – Carolynn Kim of Apex Friendship Middle School in Apex<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2nd \u2013 Lexi McGrath of Valley Springs Middle School in Arden<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3rd \u2013 Ellie Yoon of Morris Grove Elementary School Chapel Hill<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senior<\/strong> (born 2008-2011):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1st \u2013 Soyoon Kim of Chapel Hill High School in Chapel Hill<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2nd \u2013 Avaya Morrison of Elkin High School in Elkin<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3rd \u2013 Ada Sain of Lincoln Charter School in Lincolnton<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The winning art can be viewed on the NCDOT Flickr site<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The top three artists in each age category will advance to the National Aviation Art Contest<\/a> in Washington, where they will compete for a chance to advance to the international level<\/a>. Since 2017, 19 North Carolina students have placed in the top three nationally, and three have earned international honors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Artwork above – First place winner of the Senior Division: Soyoon Kim The N.C. Department of Transportation\u2019s Division of Aviation has announced the winners of the 2026 North Carolina Aviation Art Contest, an annual competition designed to inspire and engage young people in aviation through artistic expression. This year\u2019s theme, \u201cFly to Save Lives,\u201d challenged […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":34227,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[98,53],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aviation-education","category-north-carolina"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/NC-Art-Contest-2026-winner-edit-1.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34222"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34222\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34228,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34222\/revisions\/34228"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34227"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}