Thanks to Long-time Donors, Student Art Show Brings Community Together and Inspires Creativity
BEF NEWS
Thanks to Long-time Donors, Student Art Show Brings Community Together and Inspires Creativity
Thursday, May 12th, 2022
“I love how you can express yourself through art, and my art has really grown while I’ve taken classes at school,” says Angelina Conklin, a senior at Westview High School who’s headed to Portland State University next year.
Beaverton Education Foundation’s support for the arts in schools rallies the community so artists like Angelina have opportunities to tap into their creativity and round out their education, and have new ways to learn that keep them engaged in school. By engaging with educators and connecting with donors, BEF enables donors to make long-term investments in our students across all Beaverton schools.
Jim Meier and Mike Herzog, both Beaverton High School alumni, first started the Herzog-Meier Senior Arts Scholarship Awards 34 years ago. Their sons Chris Meier and Tom Herzog, the current partners at Herzog-Meier Auto Center, continue the tradition and have worked closely with BEF to elevate the program. Each year, senior students from the Beaverton high schools display their work to the public in the Herzog-Meier Auto Center showroom. And this year nine students from different Beaverton high schools each received a $1,000 scholarship to help with rising education costs.
“Sometimes things like the arts get marginalized because of the unavailability of funds. We want to support kids in Beaverton art programs and give them an incentive to continue down that track,” says Chris. “I worry that we’ll lose the artists in the world, and this is one way to inspire them to keep going.”
“It’s really powerful that BEF and these donors value the arts,” says Tamara Ottum, the Mountainside High School art teacher who directed the show at Herzog-Meier. “Sometimes we feel so spread out across Beaverton, but then you come together at an art show like this, and it gives us a real sense of community.”
Congratulations to all the Herzog-Meier Senior Arts Scholarship Awards winners:
- Rebecca Anderson, “The Comfort of My Room”, Beaverton High School
- Angelina Conklin, “Angelina”, Westview High School
- Taylor Igarta, “Bird”, Southridge High School
- Carter Kohler, “Everything the Light Touches is Yours, The Sun Has Already Set”, Arts & Communication Magnet Academy
- Helena Lieu, “RSVP”, International School of Beaverton
- Lexi Nakamura, “Balance”, Mountainside High School
- Abby Prior, “Habits Overtaking Me”, Sunset High School
- Gabi Gonzalez Rodriguez, “Clouds”, FLEX Online
- Carmen Smith, “ADHD”, Aloha High School
The following students received special commendations for their artwork:
- Michelle Abonce, “April Calendar”, Aloha High School
- Max Acoba, “Leaky Pipes”, Mountainside High School
- Jose Alvarez, “My Animal Garden”, Arts & Communication Magnet Academy
- Joyce Chen, “Childhood Amnesia”, Sunset High School
- Joyce Chen, “The Devil Whispered in My Ear”, Sunset High School
- Bryce Dahlgren, “Phil”, Mountainside High School
- Olivia Erickson, “Pomegranate”, Sunset High School
- Lexi Kahlhamer, “Turbulent Thinking”, Mountainside High School
- Courtney Karreman, “Bleeding Love,” Arts & Communication Magnet Academy
- Sadie Layman, “Plant Collection”, Southridge High School
- Kyra Mitch, “3y3”, Arts & Communication Magnet Academy
- Elena Orwick, “Patchwork Theory”, Mountainside High School
- Naue Pagtakhan, “Sliver of Light”, Beaverton High School
- Teresa Pham, “Controlled by the Wires”, Westview High School
- Zoe Pruitt, “Pants on Water”, Southridge High School
- Shaun Puthuparambil, “Untitled”, Westview High School
- Anna Scherer, “Almost”, Beaverton High School
- Nina Takahashi, “Compulsions”, Southridge High School
- Alesya Zaytseva, “Cursed Cat Coffeehouse Poster”, International School of Beaverton
- Audrey Zhao, “Focus”, Westview High School
