BEHIND THE LENS- ABOUT OUR STUDENTS

​Do you remember, back in 2011, when Susannah Glass was our first student to place 1st in State for her Senior Portfolio and Rachel Laughter placed 1st in Drawing?  Do you remember when Nathan Wong placed 1st (four years in a row) for On-site Drawing and 1st in Sculpture, Tyler Paschal placed 2nd in Applied Design, Kelly Teague placed 3rd in Drawing, and Shirley Zhang placed 1st in Drawing in 2012?  Do you remember, in 2013, when Kyle Holub won 1st place in Drawing, Julia Tape won 1st place in Printmaking, Miquelle Perez won 1st in Sculpture, Zack Mott won 1st and 2nd place in Ceramics, Jace Martin won 1st place in Sculpture Mixed Media, and Bradley Davis won 2nd Place for his Senior Portfolio?  I might add that Bradley was our first student to place this high for all 3D work! And in 2013, Emily Debuck won 2nd place in Jewelry-making at State.

Let’s pause for a moment because the plane is about to take off.  Do you remember in 2014 when Miquelle Perez won 1st in Sculpture, Kevin McNeff won 1st place in 2D mixed media, Perry Hawely won 1st place in Photography, Zach Mott won 1st place in Sculpture, Spencer Paschal won 1st Place in Ceramics, Lydia Rylands won 1st place in On-site Drawing, Erich Hellinghausen won 1st place in Printmaking, Julia Penny won 1st place in Color Drawing, Lauren Ogden won 2nd place in Jewelry-making, Landon Hook’s photography portfolio made it to State, Jake Matthews won 1st place back to back in Art History, and Haley Snowden won 1st place in Senior Portfolio?  So do you remember?  Sometimes we have to look back to know who helped build this legacy. 

To the students, thank you for taking a risk and passionately sacrificing your time outside of the classroom. The seeds of sacrifice you planted, as a team, were fruitful – we created memories and together we captured a fifth State Championship in a row.  I am honored and humbled to have had this group of seniors finish strong and “You have once again held our tradition strong.”  I will greatly miss you and your leadership.  I am very proud of our Senior Portfolios and having Spencer Paschal place first at State.  Spencer, I thank you for how much you have challenged me as a teacher and as a Christian. To Mckenna Rylands, who placed fourth with her Senior Portfolio - I walked by each day and saw your talent unfolding before the canvas. I am honored to have been a part of your journey to create art.

Remembering all these names holds a very special place in my heart because this is a rich history of the family I have been blessed with, who all bought into a program.  To all the students who have graced my classroom to be discipled - You are the legacy but only because God placed the right students at the right time so that we could boast in the work of His Hands.

 “All men are like grass, and their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall but the word of our God stands forever.” (Isaiah 40:6-8)  I will let the artwork speak for itself!  Well done again to all!  Well done!  Well done in the name of Christ.

Press On, Robert Sanders