Nate ’27 Wins Silver Medal in Scholastic Arts Competition

It’s easy to see Nate ’27’s passion for photography. Whether he is capturing photos of his peers at Field’s Winter Concert or positioned behind in the dugout getting that perfect action shot during one of his own baseball games, Nate is always ready with a camera. It is that passion and drive that recently earned him a national silver medal in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, a competition supporting student achievement in the visual and literary arts. More than 110,000 students submit their work, but only about 1,000 take home a medal. 

Nate’s silver medal photo is titled “Hope” and represents a very organic moment that he observed during the 2025 Presidential Inauguration. “A kid stepped outside of the line with his parents and sort of basked in the rain with his arms extended, looking to the sky, and it was just a moment of the right place, right time,” Nate shared. “I think I got some of the best pictures of my career. Some of them I have hung in my house now.”

Nate’s passion for photography started in his early days at Field. “It was one of those things where I was taking pictures on phones and I was just playing around with taking pictures of sunsets and things I saw that I thought were pretty. And then I thought, let me try to get a little more serious about this.” His curiosity started to grow, leading him to Field’s photography program, one that he credits for his love of photography. “I have great photography teachers here who have really helped me understand that you can slow down and really compose a shot,” he said. “I really credit Field to my developed love for pursuing photography.”

While his understanding of the technical side of photography (i.e. composition, lighting, angles, etc.) have developed over the years, so has his appreciation for finding the human element of every photo. “There's so many characters and so many people there with their own unique life stories, right? And they're all there for various reasons, but everything that they've done essentially has brought them to this place.”

Nate earned three Gold Key, one Silver Key, and two Honorable Mention Awards in the Regional-at-Large East portion of the competition. Regional Gold Key recipients are automatically considered for the national awards.