Ocoee middle-schooler wins state art contest

OCOEEE — A girl and a boy, each from different continents, reach across the globe’s Atlantic Ocean for each other’s hands in an act of friendship, and a red ribbon wraps behind the pair with the words “Kindness Without Borders.”

Jennifer Ly, an eighth-grader at Ocoee Middle School, used colored pencils to create the artwork that has earned her a first-place award in the Atlantic Institute’s Art and Essay Contest for Florida middle-schoolers.

The contest theme was “Kindness Without Borders: Open Eyes, Open Hearts in our Global Village.” The art was judged by University of Central Florida faculty members and the dean of the Art and Humanities Department. The award ceremony was held Feb. 21 Seminole State College Fine Arts Concert Hall.

“We are very proud of Jennifer’s accomplishment,” said Brenda Bartnick, Ocoee Middle’s art teacher. “It was an extra-credit assignment for art, and as soon as I saw her art, I knew I was holding a winning entry.”

Participants were tasked with either writing an essay or creating a piece of art. Forty students were named winners, and prizes included an iPad, cash prizes for the teachers and the opportunity for both to take an expenses-paid 10-day trip to Turkey.

Branden Tremel Young and Emily Colon, students at Lakeview Middle School, won third and fourth place, respectively, in the middle-school essay contest. Their teacher is Jennifer Seachrist.

Atlantic Institute received more than 500 submissions from 33 Florida schools and a total of nearly 2,000 submissions in the southeastern states. The contest was first organized in 2006 by the Istanbul Center in Atlanta. Past themes include “Respect for Human Dignity,” “Empathy: Walking in Another’s Shoes” and “Connecting Culture in the Digital Age: How Does Social Media Change the Future of Our World?”

Sponsors are Valencia College, University of Central Florida, Georgia Department of Education, Brevard Community College, UNAOC, Second Harvest Food Bank, Kennesaw University, Clayton State University, Holocaust Center of Florida, Seminole State College, Costco Wholesale and city of Orlando.

The Atlantic Institute promotes global understanding by allowing students to think critically about global issues. Its mission is this: “We believe in the power of personal interaction and communicative dialogue, as they are the best channels to build mutual understanding, trust and harmony for a peaceful world.”

Contact Amy Quesinberry Rhode at [email protected].