Patrick Flanagan, a graduating senior at Dallas’ St. Mark’s School of Texas, has been named one of 20 U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts for 2024.

The U.S. Presidential Scholars award—one of the nation’s highest honors for high school students who exemplify academic excellence, leadership qualities, and community service—is presented on behalf of the President of the U.S, and honors up to 161 graduating high school seniors of high potential each year. To be selected as a U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts, students must have attended National YoungArts Week.

L to R: St. Mark’s students Patrick Flanagan, Hudson Brown, and Lukas Palys were all named 2024 YoungArts Winners of Distinction, with Flanagan going on to be named a 2024 U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts. Nathan Meyer and Charlie Hill were named Winners in the YoungArts competition. [Photo: St. Mark’s]

Flanagan was one of three St. Mark’s students to be named “Winners of Distinction” in the 2024 national YoungArts competition. along with Hudson Brown and Lukas Palys. In January, the three students traveled to Miami for National YoungArts Week, a week-long program offering master classes taught by world-renowned artists as well as opportunities for the students to exhibit their work.

Two other St. Mark’s students received the “Winner” designation in the YoungArts competition: Nathan Meyer in photography and Charlie Hill in design arts.

St. Mark’s photography instructor Scott Hunt, who holds the school’s Arnold E. Holtberg Master Teaching Chair, has had 36 students receive recognition from the YoungArts Program over the years.
 
“I’m proud of all of my boys for the commitment and hard work that goes into developing a competitive portfolio for YoungArts,” Hunt said in a statement. “The boys spend months crafting and creating their portfolio, a process that is not unlike developing a master’s thesis exhibit. While not every boy receives accolades, I’m proud of all of them for embarking on such a daunting task, overcoming challenges and developing portfolios that are meaningful and powerful.”

Flanagan also snagged first-place wins from the Texas Photographic Society

Flanagan had already won kudos recently from the Texas Photographic Society’s 2024 International Student Competition, where he won two first-place awards in the Fine Art/Abstract and Landscape categories, a second-place award in the Documentaries/Photojournalism category, and five honorable mentions.

Flanagan was just one of 14 St. Mark’s students recognized with a total of 29 selections in the 2024 TPS competition, which is presented annually by TPS and the the Association of Texas Photography Instructors for current high school, middle, and elementary school students.

‘Next generation of artistic changemakers’

Of this year’s 20 Presidential Scholars in the Arts winners, YoungArts President Clive Chang said the students, “who have so impressively demonstrated academic and artistic excellence, along with commitment to and leadership in their communities—represent the next generation of artistic changemakers who will continue to use their skills and creativity to help us broaden our understanding of the world. YoungArts is thrilled to support them today, and to invest in their lifelong creative freedom.”

More details about all 20 winners below can be found here.

The 2024 U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts winners [Photos: YoungArts]

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