On Feb. 18 an award ceremony was held at the Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) meeting, with students and parents invited to attend. This ceremony was regarding the art contest named “Reflections”, which is held by the PTA every year. This year’s theme was “I belong” and included various categories such as visual arts, photography, dance, music, video and even literary works. Sophomore Marc Espina was one of the several students that submitted their work to the contest.
“The photo I chose was a photo of a pregnant belly and the parents’ [hands] made a heart on the belly. So, basically my thought process on that was, the parents were two different ethnicities. One of them was white and one of them was Filipino. What I thought was that despite the racial difference the love between them united them and that is why I thought it aligned with the “I belong” theme,” Espina said.
The work was submitted through a google form, along with a description of the meaning. Espina’s photo, along with the other students who participated, was put into a slide presentation which was shown at the PTSA association meeting. Although not all of the contestants were present at the event, Espina was able to attend. PTSA president Karla Finch explains the details of the way the contest works.
“Our contest due date is around the beginning of December. From then, we can only choose one submission per category as the winner to move to the next level. If we have more than two submissions, then we have to go through a panel of judges which can be teachers, parents or other students,” Finch said. “Then, we choose the winners to move on. If there is only one submission and that specific category, then we move them to the district level. They can get an award of excellence or an award of merit.”
Through submitting work, students receive an award that signifies their continuation into the next level of the event or a participation award. Espina was given an award of excellence, meaning he moves onto the next level. Career and Technical Education (CTE) beginning digital photography teacher Edwin Lim has Espina as a student, and shares his impressions of him.
“[Espina] is a superstar. He actually loves photography and also visual photography so he has advanced photoshop skills. His photos are technically solid but also they reach fine art meaning they reach a higher level. They show aesthetic and beauty. He [accomplishes] solid, wonderful story-telling with the medium of art,” Lim said.
Espina signed up for and submitted his photography through an assignment Lim created for the class. Lim was personally impressed with the work, as he shared that the submission is a stunning example of technical skill in terms of lighting and composition.
“To be honest [I was not nervous] because I am confident in my ability to take good photos and I just went with my gut and with what I felt. I learned a lot from [the experience] because I had to be more creative in creating a photo that aligned with the theme. I would [recommend students to participate] because I felt for me at least, [that] it brought in my creative mind,” Espina said.
