High school seniors awarded college scholarships for artwork

Students at several area high schools are among hundreds awarded art scholarships, sharing a pool of over $67 million.

Adlai E. Stevenson High School seniors Natalie Wess and Bekka Goldstein along with Glenbrook North High School seniors Lydia Ahn and Cam Casey merited more than $800,000 in college scholarships from 10 different schools.

Though their artistic talent was recently recognized in academic circles, the students have said their goals include a military career and entrepreneurship while not forsaking art.

Casey, Ahn, Goldstein and Wess were among more than 500 scholarship winners qualifying for over $67 million overall at the sixth annual Illinois High School Art Exhibition Feb. 24 at the Bridgeport Art Center in Chicago.

Between Stevenson and Glenbrook North, seven seniors from each accumulated over $2 million in scholarships, according to information provided by the organization. Glenbroook students got $1,054,024 in offers and those from Stevenson earned $1,024,908.

Chris Sykora, a Deerfield High School art teacher and one of the event founders, said a significant number of scholarship winners received multiple offers but will only choose one school. A former hockey player, he said he wants artists to have the opportunity to showcase their talent as athletes do.

Sykora said along with getting colleges to review student art and offer scholarships, there are two exhibits. One show features a piece from each scholarship winner. The other represents some of the best art from each of the 95 participating schools as selected by faculty members.

Lee Block, an art teacher from Glenbrook North who helped shepherd students from her school through the scholarship process, said students seeking financial aid from colleges uploaded a portfolio containing between five and 25 art pieces for review by the participating institutions.

"The colleges all had access to it," Block said. "All seven of our students who participated got scholarship offers. It was a great showing."

Katie Hyken, an art teacher from Stevenson who spearheaded the effort there, said the show created opportunities for students that did not otherwise exist.

"It's a really great opportunity for our artists to exhibit their work in a gallery outside our community," Hyken said. "Not too many of them have been able to do that."

In 2018, Sykora said more than $43 million were offered in scholarships.

Ahn, a Northbrook resident who got $175,560 from five different colleges, said she is undecided on her choice of schools but hopes to earn a different kind of scholarship. She is looking to join ROTC, preferably in the United States Air Force. She said discipline is necessary for both a military officer and an artist.

"Art is a way I am able express myself," Ahn, who is a surrealist painter, said. "I started to paint as early as I can remember. It's a way to emotionally communicate."

Communicating summertime memories with her family at a swimming pool using painting and fabric earned Ahn an honorable mention award in the mixed media portion of the overall exhibit.

Goldstein, a Hawthorn Woods resident who received $292,000 in scholarship offers from six schools, remains undecided about a college choice, has seen technology change the way she artistically expresses herself since she started drawing as a "very little kid."

Now Goldstein said she uses a computer now to enhance her work and sees animation in her future.

"It takes the art a little further," Goldstein said. "It's so interesting to capture life's movement. It's really exciting. I can really tell a story on film and that's something I want to pursue. It helps bring me out as a storyteller."

Also a Hawthorn Woods resident, Wess earned $193,346 in art scholarships from five schools. She said she plans to combine her artistic talent with business knowledge. She said she will be attending either the University of Illinois or Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

Wess, who earned a silver award in photography, is looking at a future in photography or film but not necessarily as an artist. She is considering a college major in arts management and entrepreneurship which is offered at Miami, she said. She explained that she is thinking about taking those skills and knowledge to the nonprofit world to send a message of change.

"There are a lot of social and human rights issues out there," Wess said. "There are a lot of questions to be answered."

Casey, a Northbrook resident who earned $180,448 in scholarships from five schools, is hoping to attend the New York Film Academy in Los Angeles to learn filmmaking.

A photographer and filmmaker, Casey is also a wrestler who competed in the state tournament earlier this year and played football for Glenbrook North. He said he got started with film shooting basketball trick shots. He also got compliments for football videos he put on the internet.

"I got interested in high school. It is something I am good at," Casey said. "It's a possibility," he added suggesting sports films could be in his future.