Student Earns Prestigious National Scholastic Award
Award-winning creation from Lucia Thomas (’24) to be on display at Belger Crane Yard Studios, 2011 Tracy Ave. in the East Crossroads. Lucia’s work will be on view from August 2 (First Friday) through the following week.
A public reception will be held to honor Lucia’s accomplishments on August 2 from 6-8 p.m.
July 23, 2024
Recent graduate and art student Lucia Thomas (’24) has earned a National Scholastic Art Award Gold Medal for her ceramic creation titled, “Giddy-Up.” She joins the ranks of former notable National Scholastic Award winners including Ken Burns, Truman Capote, Amanda Gorman, Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates, Kay WalkingStick and Andy Warhol.
Thomas’ piece is a sculptural vase showcasing two feline creatures who seem to find friendly companionship with one another. Glazed and embellished with enamel paints, this piece required a focus on detail.
“The National Scholastic Arts Awards is the nation’s most prestigious recognition program for creative students,” said Lisa Dibble, Thomas’ art instructor at STA. “I compare it to the Olympics of high school art. It is a rare and outstanding achievement.”
“I’m honored to have earned this award,” said Thomas. “This was the first piece I made in my ceramics class, so I never thought it would be award winning. But Mrs. Dibble was always encouraging me to share my work and just put it out there. I’ve always felt supported at STA with my art.”
“Giddy-Up” will be featured locally on First Friday, August 2 at Belger Crane Yard Studios located at 2011 Tracy Ave. in Kansas City, Missouri. A public reception celebrating Thomas’ achievement will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Belger Arts is well known for exhibiting contemporary art from the Belger Collection and by a rich variety of local, national, and international artists. Belger Arts also provides studio space for artists, programming in ceramics and glass education, and an artist in residence program.
“We’re excited to feature Lucia’s work during our upcoming First Friday,” said Consuelo Cruz (’85), deputy director of Belger Arts and fellow STA alumna. “It’s clear from her work that she is a standout artist with a bright future.”
More than 100,000 students entered nearly 340,000 original works that were juried by some of the foremost leaders in the visual arts. Gold Awards were selected for excellence in originality, skill, and the emergence of a personal voice or vision. With this award, Thomas’ work ranks in the top 1% of all submissions.
Thomas also illustrated the images in the STA Admissions viewbook for the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 academic years. You can view those illustrations here.

