Local Students Announced as Winners in State-wide Art Contest Including Artist of the Year
Students from Whitko Jr./Sr. High School named as winners.
Columbia City, IN – Three students from South Whitley have been honored for their artwork in Indiana Electric Cooperatives' 26th annual Cooperative Calendar of Student Art Contest.
Justine Ocken, a high school junior from South Whitley, was named artist of the year for her color pencil work of a horse, rider, and a dog wading in an autumn stream. The work was also named Best of Show. In addition, a second work by Ocken was awarded an honorable mention in the 11th-grade category.
Freshman Cate Deckena, also from South Whitley, won the 9th-grade category with her black and white color pencil portrait of a cat. Additionally, Makenna Krause from Whitko won an honorable mention in the same category.
Winners were selected from across the state for each grade, K-12, and will receive $200. Their artwork will illustrate the cover and the 12 months of a 2024 calendar. Thirteen additional artists earned an honorable mention award and $75. These works will appear in a special section of the calendar. A complete list of the contest winners is included below.
“Students from Whitko have been participating and winning some of these categories each year for more than twenty years. This really speaks to the art program at Whitko, and we are proud to support the artistic talents of these students,” said Christopher Todd, Marketing Director of Northeastern REMC.
The artwork was judged on artistic merit, originality, creativity, and suitability for a wall calendar. The art contest is open to any Indiana K-12 student. Approximately 2,500 pieces of artwork were entered in this year’s contest.
The 2024 wall calendar will be distributed to local schools by Northeastern REMC this fall.
2024 calendar grade division winners
• Kindergarten: Serenity White, Medora, Indiana
• First Grade: Hadley Wagner, Jasper, Indiana
• Second Grade: Rayna Pryor, Flora, Indiana
• Third Grade: Trinity Messmer, Jasper, Indiana
• Fourth Grade: Flynn Cissell, Borden, Indiana
• Fifth Grade: Kaylin Fuller, Charlestown, Indiana
• Sixth Grade: Chloe Holtke, Seymour, Indiana
• Seventh Grade: Nandini Kondhare, Columbus, Indiana
• Eighth Grade: Jenna Merli, Union Mills, Indiana
• Ninth Grade: Cate Deckena, South Whitley, Indiana
• 10th Grade: Riley Aebersold, New Albany, Indiana
• 11th Grade: Justine Ocken, South Whitley, Indiana
• 12th Grade: Lindsey Todd, Craigville, Indiana
Honorable mention winners
• Kindergarten: Benton Welp, Jasper, Indiana
• First Grade: Kinze Campbell, Union Mills, Indiana
• Second Grade: Arabella White, Medora, Indiana
• Third Grade: Naiya Hood, Brazil, Indiana
• Fourth Grade: Lily Fouts, Seymour, Indiana
• Fifth Grade: Dakota Moon, Brazil, Indiana
• Sixth Grade: McKenzie Haehl, Shelbyville, Indiana
• Seventh Grade: Kyla Krouse, Fort Wayne, Indiana
• Eighth Grade: Viola Reeves, Monrovia, Indiana
• Ninth Grade: Makenna Krause, South Whitley, Indiana
• 10th Grade: Taylor Patton, Paoli, Indiana
• 11th Grade: Justine Ocken, South Whitley, Indiana
• 12th Grade: Elizabeth Mattos, Kendallville, Indiana
