{"id":34678,"date":"2026-04-01T14:48:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T14:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/?p=34678"},"modified":"2026-04-01T14:48:01","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T14:48:01","slug":"north-carolina-students-earn-national-recognition-in-aviation-art-contest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/state-news\/north-carolina\/north-carolina-students-earn-national-recognition-in-aviation-art-contest\/%20","title":{"rendered":"North Carolina Students Earn National Recognition in Aviation Art Contest"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Photo<\/em> – First place winner in Junior Category Aaron Chen<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Multiple North Carolina students received national honors for their artwork depicting how aviation helps save lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The annual competition, hosted by the National Association of State Aviation Officials<\/a> and the National Aeronautic Association<\/a>, encourages students ages 6 to 17 to explore aviation through art. This year\u2019s theme, \u201cFly to Save Lives,\u201d highlighted the role of aircraft in emergency response, medical transport and disaster relief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

North Carolina was one of many states to submit artwork following state-level contests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

North Carolina\u2019s national winners include:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Leia Scarborough art work<\/em>.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Junior Category:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 First Place<\/a>: Aaron Chen of Metrolina Regional Scholars Academy in Charlotte<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Second Place<\/a>: Leia Scarborough of South Mebane Elementary School in Mebane<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intermediate Category:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Third Place<\/a>: Carolynn Kim of Apex Friendship Middle School in Apex<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese students captured the important role aviation plays in protecting and supporting communities,\u201d said Nick Short, director of the NCDOT Division of Aviation. \u201cTheir artwork reflects both creativity and an understanding of how aviation serves as a lifeline during emergencies. We\u2019re proud to see North Carolina represented at the national level.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The national winners now advance to the 2026 FAI Young Artists Contest<\/a>, where their artwork will compete against submissions from around the world. The F\u00e9d\u00e9ration A\u00e9ronautique Internationale<\/a> (FAI) will judge the international round later this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The aviation art contest is part of a global initiative designed to inspire youth to learn more about aviation and aerospace through artistic expression. North Carolina students have consistently earned national recognition, highlighting the state\u2019s strong aviation tradition and commitment to encouraging the next generation of aviation professionals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A total of 22 student artists from North Carolina, including this year’s three winners, have received awards in the previous national art contest and three have earned international prizes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photo – First place winner in Junior Category Aaron Chen Multiple North Carolina students received national honors for their artwork depicting how aviation helps save lives. The annual competition, hosted by the National Association of State Aviation Officials and the National Aeronautic Association, encourages students ages 6 to 17 to explore aviation through art. This […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":34679,"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-34678","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\/Aaron-Chen-NC-edit.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34678","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=34678"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34678\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34681,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34678\/revisions\/34681"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34679"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}