We are proud to announce the award winning students from our 23rd Annual Dennis Thomas Art and Writing Challenge!

This year, students were asked to respond to the theme: Daring to Dream: What Will Emerge?

We asked students to consider the significance of the past year and the impacts it made on their self-identity, daily lives, families, and concept of the future. We wanted to hear from students who were attempting to make sense of the chaos and trauma we have collectively experienced. What did they envision emerging from this moment? Where do they think we can go from here and how do we re-build? 

Students from across Contra Costa County responded to our prompt. Our judging panel had a challenging time choosing winners for the categories – as there were many competitive submissions. The winners in the respective categories are below:

 Lyda K Dicus High School Grand Prize Award:

“The Sound of Silent Stories” by Eloise Anagnost
(Grade 10 – Miramonte High School)

Middle School Grand Prize Award:

“The Amazing Noodles” by Olin Xia
(Grade 6 – Dorris Eaton School)

Middle School Essay First Prize:
“Problems in Our World: Sexual Harassment” by Anika Sherer Grade 7 – Dorris-Eaton

Ean Reynolds Middle School Creative Writing Award:

“Speak Up” – Natalie Kwon, Grade 7 – Doris Eaton

HIGH SCHOOL VISUAL ART

Persephone Reynolds High School Visual Art First Prize Award:
“My Way” by Cindy Zhou, Grade 11 – Dougherty Valley High School

SECOND PRIZE WINNER:
“Beyond” by Leon Ren – 10th Grade – Miramonte High School

HIGH SCHOOL VISUAL ART – THIRD PLACE:
Zeena Ali – Grade 11 – College Park

Youth Activist Grant Award:
In Memory of Nicole H. Auclair

This annual contest also includes our Youth Activist Grant Award – which this year sought to recognize student activists who exhibited a remarkable commitment, perseverance, and passion to social justice work in the face of an unprecedented global pandemic. These students were creative and persistent in their organizing efforts – as there were limited opportunities for in-person gatherings, in addition to the myriad of other obstacles in their way. Students had to be nominated by a member of the community for consideration. Both of our award winners this year are from Ygnacio Valley High School.

Alex Hagerstrand, is an 11th grader who led brave work at their school through their leadership advocating around LGBTQ issues on campus. During Alex’s tenure so far at YVHS, they have organized a number of on-campus events, such as the “Day of Silence”, which served to raise awareness around LGBTQ issues. This year, Alex led work with her peers to lobby teachers to include LGBTQ inclusive curriculum in their classes. They even participated in an NPR article about mental health during the pandemic. Alex was brave enough to share mental health challenges they faced at school and how pandemic homeschooling alleviated some stressors. The article can be found here: Learning Curve: 2 Moms Maneuver Education Needs During The Pandemic

We are also proud to recognize the Ygnacio Valley Racist Mascot Removal Committee! Their names are: Kaia Morgan, Nikki McNab, Kimberly Gallaga, Mark Rainier Catapusan, Natalie Flores, and Jennifer Bunifacio-Rodriguez. They are a group of six students who campaigned throughout the year to educate around the harmful stereotypes and indigenous imagery used by their school. The school mascot and logo depicts an “indigenous face with ‘war paint’ – along with a spear going through the letter ‘W’ (for Warriors).They organized a number of educational workshops and connected with local indigenous groups to educate the community on why this imagery is harmful and insensitive towards indigenous groups. In a bout of success – this past June – the school district board voted to change the name of the school mascot.