Meet the 2020 Gold Medal Portfolio Recipients: Vitoria Sana Perez & Jeffrey Liao

In the 2020 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers recognized 16 high school seniors from across the country with the program’s highest national honor, the Gold Medal Portfolio, which includes a $10,000 scholarship. Throughout the month of May, we are highlighting and interviewing two pairs of Gold Medal Portfolio recipients a week prior to their virtual national ceremony in June. In this Q&A each pair of recipients were asked a few questions about their nationally recognized portfolios, craft, and future plans. And, to make it more interesting, each Gold Medal Portfolio recipient also asked each other a question to get to know their fellow medalist.

In today’s installment we get to meet a pair of Gold Medal Portfolio recipients that were recognized for their incredible works of writing: Vitoria Sana Perez from New Orleans, LA and Jeffrey Liao from Livingston, NJ.

Meet Gold Medal Portfolio recipient Vitoria Sana Perez! In her nationally recognized writing portfolio, “So Seeks My Soul,” Vitoria delves into her personal experiences with her family, Muslim religion, Filipino and Afghan ethnicity, as well as her overall identity, through a series of unique poems.

When did you first know you were a writer?

I first knew I was a writer when I was very young. I began reading from a pretty young age, and writing followed suit. I saw my older stepsiblings reading Harry Potter when I was probably around kindergarten, and I too wanted to join in on the reading and so I was hooked and never stopped reading from there. Around the same time, I wrote stories on paper and bound them with clips and staples, and here I am. 

What was the inspiration behind your portfolio?

The inspiration behind my portfolio was one of my everyday predicaments. My grandmother (of Filipina and Afghan descent) was adopted--so my family lost our culture and assimilated into that of suburban Louisiana. I grew up looking different from the majority of those around me in my small town, and I never directly said I was Asian until middle school--I was ashamed of it, and I'm perhaps rather ashamed to admit that in retrospect. My portfolio is a collection of thoughts and experiences over the years of me learning about where my family comes from and who we are, our food and languages and histories, and learning to reconnect with them in a way that felt right while still honoring the fact that my family's Asian American immigration story is a less than conventional one.

What do you want someone to take away from reading the pieces in your portfolio?

I think I would want a reader to take the notion from my portfolio that the Asian-American experience isn't monolithic--we live among various cultures and religions, descend from various cultures and religions, and share experiences no matter our national origin or ties.

What’s next for you? Will you continue to write in your future?

Writing is the plan! In the fall, I'll be majoring in English at the University of Tampa where hopefully I'll continue redrafting and tying up my novel writing process!

If you could have dinner with one notable/famous writer (living or dead) who would it be and what would you want to talk about with them?

I've been reading Wuthering Heights lately, so I would definitely want to sit down with Emily Brontë and discuss what it was like to write such a novel at such a time as a woman and amidst the sociopolitical conditions she lived in.

Question from Gold Medal Portfolio recipient Jeffrey Liao: In your poem “A Love Poem to My Hair,” you explore themes of heritage, identity, and belonging through the lens of the politics of hair. What themes or symbols do you find reappearing in your work, and what are the primary inspirations for your poems?

As far as my relationship with my hair goes in this poem, I think a large part of it comes from my love-hate, pull-push, colonized-decolonized, conform-don't conform sort of relationship that I have with it, and that's where my inspiration came from. My hair (and hair in general) is a reappearing image in my work, likely pulled subconsciously over time from Southeastern and Central Asian classical literature and poetry that inspires my own writing. Being someone who wears my curls and waves proudly from time to time, the poem is definitely an attempt at giving a stark push against stereotypes and assumptions that both non-Asian and other Asian people alike make about what "Asian hair" means, where it comes from, and how it looks, feels, etc. That poem specifically does come from all that but it also comes from my realization over time that my hair doesn't naturally fit the perpetuated and over-exoticized pin-straight hair image. It's an appreciation poem, if anything, for a part of me that remains forgiving even if I cut my own bangs, dye it the wrong color, or flat-iron it at 2am.

Meet Gold Medal Portfolio recipient Jeffrey Liao! In his nationally recognized writing portfolio, “From Salt and Memory,” Jeffrey chronicles his experiences as the son of immigrants and reflects upon the erasure of Asian American voices in mainstream society. His series of written works within his portfolio all created in an attempt to unravel, re-assemble, and weave together centuries of familial history into a narrative of oppression, resilience and, ultimately, hope.

When did you first know you were a writer?

My love for writing manifested initially from my habits as a reader. Growing up, I read mostly fictional or fantastical stories, but as I grew older, I became interested in the intersection of writing and activism and wanted to use language as a vessel through which I could explore the nuances of identity and history.

What was the inspiration behind your portfolio?

The primary inspiration for my portfolio came through the various threads of memory, family, and heritage that comprise the fabric of my selfhood.

What do you want someone to take away from reading the pieces in your portfolio?

I want readers to feel a sense of understanding when they walk away from my work. Even if they can’t relate directly to my experiences, I hope that my writing can be a bridge, that they may take away a feeling of unity and appreciation for the diverse and multifaceted perspectives around us.

What’s next for you? Will you continue to write in your future?

I plan on minoring in creative writing when I go to college (hopefully) in the upcoming fall. I would love to continue writing poetry, experiment with prose, and hopefully be published as much as possible in the future.

If you could have dinner with one notable/famous writer (living or dead) who would it be and what would you want to talk about with them?

I would ask Toni Morrison how she navigates mainstream literary spaces and what she feels is the distinction between a writer’s obligation to the world, to one’s community, and to one’s own self.

Question from Gold Medal Portfolio recipient Vitoria Sana Perez: The first thing I want to say to Jeffrey is that this piece really struck a chord with me and that I felt every section on a personal level in some way. My question, then, is what effect do you hope the volta in the penultimate and final sections of this piece have? What effect do you hope this piece has on people who can relate to it, and what effect conversely do you hope this piece has on those who can't?

In the final sections of this poem, I hope to convey feelings of hope, understanding, and acceptance. By contextualizing my own experiences, I hope that others may find a voice in my words. Even if someone can’t necessarily relate firsthand to my experiences, if they can walk away feeling something or seeing through the lens of my worldview for a few minutes, then I’ve accomplished my goal as a writer.

Stay tuned for early next week when we get to know another pair of Gold Medal Portfolio recipients!

If you’re interested in learning more about past and present Gold Medal Portfolio winners visit the Eyes on the Prize series on the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers blog.