This month has been hard with lots of change and uncertainty. During these seasons it is sometimes hard to see the good or joyous moments because they are easily clouded by the stress of daily life. So instead of looking at the stress or worry of the times let’s look to something we can celebrate.
Recently several of our Concordia students submitted and won over 30 awards for the Regional Scholastics Art and Writing Competition. As a nation more than 110,000 students submitted nearly 320,000 works of art and writing to the 2020 Scholastic Awards. As of this week one of our own students, junior Sarai Jeronimo, received word that she won a National Medal for her photography work. Only 3,000 works receive a National Medal, which places her within the top 1% of all submissions! We are so proud of Sarai and wanted to take this opportunity to share in congratulating her on her amazing accomplishment.
I asked Sarai to express her thoughts on winning the award and here is what she said:
“Winning this award is something special. I never really thought I was any good at art or would ever be any good, but I signed up for photography at Concordia and soon began to love all the pictures I was taking. I remember submitting my picture into the Scholastic Art & Writing competition and soon I was told I won a Gold key in the Regional competition I couldn’t believe It. On March 16 Miss Heisler told me to check my Scholastic account and saw I won a National Gold medal for my art. My art. I couldn’t believe It. Not only did I make myself proud, but I made my brother proud too, and he was the one who gave me the camera to begin with. I still can’t believe I won, but it wouldn’t have been possible without my teacher, Miss Heisler”
Sarai’s photography will be on display in New York City at Parsons the New School for Design, and she will have an opportunity to receive her award at Carnegie Hall. As an art department, we are incredibly proud of Sarai. She is one of the most imaginative and determined photography students. She is always challenging herself and puts dedication and heart behind all her work. She pushes boundaries of limitations and constantly thinks outside the box. She is an inspiration to all of us and we cannot wait to see where she takes her art in the future!
Kylee Heisler,
Art Teacher