What’s better than being in a room filled with wonderful student projects and some yummy refreshments? Reflections is a contest held by the National Parent Teacher Association, also known as the PTA, to give students a venue to showcase their artistic talents. This is the nation’s largest PTA art recognition and achievement program. Applicants have the chance to win scholarships and other awards, such as the “Merit Award,” the ‘Award of Excellence”, and the “Outstanding Interpretation Award.”

The theme of this year’s contest is ¨Within Reach.¨ Students are able to show their original work in a wide range of categories such as dance choreography, film production, literature, music composition, photography and visual arts. The winners are chosen by how their entries relate to the theme, how original and creative their piece is, and the level of skill that is demonstrated in the art.

¨It’s really nice to see the talent of students that I don’t have in my classes,” said art teacher Amy Limón.

Students had the opportunity to walk around the media center and view over 30 outstanding submissions by their fellow peers.  Taking a look at the abilities of peers allows students to get to know the people they go to school with in a deeper way.

¨My favorite part of the gallery walk is seeing all the pictures and art from applicants,¨ said senior Joanna Chang.

The film productions are displayed on laptops and played on a loop for students to view. The awards for first place, second place, third place, as well as honorable mentions, are set in front of the artwork. Many of the students leave the gallery with awards, some with more than one.

From the visual arts category, Junior Ye jin Chang was awarded the first place prize and senior Nayoun Nicole Kim received an honorable mention. In the film category, sophomore Evelyn Mulroy, junior Ashley Jacobson, and junior Ajay Keerthy won awards for their work. Junior Abbigail Seligman was the first place photography winner. Sophomore Shannon Beattie was awarded an honorable mention in literature. It was clear that all of the applicants devoted a lot of time into creating their entries. The first, second, and third place winner’s artwork will advance to regionals and possibly move on to the nationals.

Many who have viewed this show feel this was a very ambitious and creative group of entries for this prestigious annual event. Everyone at Adams should be very proud of all the entries and the winners.