Fairfax County students again dominated in the 2026 Virginia Aviation Art Competition, sponsored by the Virginia Department of Aviation.
Students from the county won first place in all three age categories and won seven of nine overall awards in the competition, whose theme this year was “Fly to Save Lives.”
The 2026 competition invited students to explore how aviation supports emergency response, medical transport, disaster relief, search-and-rescue and humanitarian missions.
Announced on Tuesday (Feb. 24), the award recipients by age category were:
- Junior (ages 6-10)
- First place: Seren Shen, Great Falls
- Second place: Aria Gu, Vienna
- Third place: Alex Zhang, Vienna
- Intermediate (ages 11-14)
- First place: Jennifer Xia, Great Falls
- Second place: Aiden Zhang, Falls Church
- Third place: Callie Hu, Great Falls
- Senior (ages 15-18)
- First place: Annie Chen, Fairfax
- Second place: Daisy Ying, Great Falls
- Third place: Christina Hou, Arlington
“These students’ achievements reflect not only their remarkable talent, but their dedication and imagination,” Greg Campbell, director of the Virginia Department of Aviation, said in a press release. “We are proud to see them share their creativity with the nation—and potentially the world — and to represent the very best of Virginia on the national and international stage.”
Entries were evaluated on originality, use of color, relation to the theme and overall composition. The judging panel brought professional backgrounds in aviation, engineering and education.
Award-winning students will move on to national competition.
In last year’s national contest, three Virginia students — all from Fairfax County — earned top honors: Andrew Yang of Great Falls earned first place in the Junior category, Vienna’s Aspen Xing placed second in the Intermediate category, and Lalitha Kuchipudi of Chantilly finished third in the Senior category.
Kuchipudi went on to win the gold medal at the international competition hosted by the Swiss-based Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, distinguishing herself as the top student aviation artist in the world.
The theme for the 2025 competition was “Women with Wings.” Kuchipudi’s drawing depicted a young girl dressed in an astronaut’s flight suit, jumping on her bed while erupting in laughter. On the wall behind the girl are posters of astronaut pioneers, including Sally Ride, Valentina Tereshkova and Jeanette Epps.
