High school winners of Holocaust observance writing, art contests

The Spokane Community Observance of the Holocaust has announced the top 3 placers in the 14th Eva Lassman Memorial Creative Writing Contest and sixth annual Art Contest. Ferris ninth-grader Ruby McConnell won first place in the writing contest. Natalie Kearce, a 10th-grade student at On Track Academy, won first place in the art contest.

Section:Gallery

Thu., April 30, 2020

First place, art contest: Natalie Kearce has won the Spokane Community Observance of the Holocaust’s sixth annual Art Contest with her stained-glass panel, “The Heroes are Everywhere.” Kearce is a 10th-grade student of Erin Bangle at On Track Academy.
First place, writing contest: Ruby McConnell has won the Spokane Community Observance of the Holocaust’s 14th Eva Lassman Memorial Creative Writing Contest for her poem, “The Rescued.” McConnell is a ninth-grade student of Maria Sturgeon at Ferris High School in Spokane.

Courtesy Courtesy
Second place, writing: Carolyn Bozin has earned second place in the Spokane Community Observance of the Holocaust’s 14th Eva Lassman Memorial Creative Writing Contest for her essay, “The Girl Who Fought Nazis.” Bozin is a 12-grade student of Matty McIntyre at Gonzaga Preparatory School in Spokane.

Dmitriy Zhelez Courtesy Of Dmitriy Zhelez Photography
Third place, writing: Nathaniel Corbett has taken third place in the Spokane Community Observance of the Holocaust’s 14th Eva Lassman Memorial Creative Writing Contest for his essay, “The Essence of a True Hero.” Corbett is a 12-grade student of Matty McIntyre at Gonzaga Preparatory School in Spokane.
Second place, art: “Surviving the Holocaust Through Music,” by Bridgette Malakowsky, is the second place entry in the Spokane Community Observance of the Holocaust sixth annual Art Contest. Malakowsky is a 12-grade student of Lori Jacobsen at East Valley High School. Malakowsky writes: “The Holocaust was a terribly tragic event in history that brought many people and families nothing but pain. Human beings were living in an ugly world; if they wanted hope, then they had to build it up from nothing, whether it was for themselves or others. Bronislaw Huberman created this hope through the foundation of the Palestine Symphony Orchestra, saving an estimated 1,000lives. With the assistance of wealthy Jews, Huberman provided 70 Jewish musicians and their families with permanent residence certificates. I chose to use a vinyl record for the platform of my painting because I felt as though it authentically represented music. The vinyl is covered with stripes to represent the uniforms Jewish people were forced to wear. The fire represents their pain and their hurt, while the flowers show the beauty they had to nurture and grow themselves. In the middle is a violin, because that is the instrument Bronislaw Huberman played. This music saved Jews physically and emotionally.”
Second place, art: Bridgette Malakowsky has earned second place in the Spokane Community Observance of the Holocaust’s sixth annual Art Contest for her artwork, “Surviving the Holocaust Through Music.” Malakowsky is a 12-grade student of Lori Jacobsen at East Valley High School in Spokane Valley.
Third place, art: “A Hero’s Journal,” by Melina Williams, is the third place selection in the Spokane Community Observance of the Holocaust’s sixth annual Art Contest. Williams is a 10th-grade student of Eric Havermann at TEC at Bryant in Spokane. Williams writes: “This is an interactive art piece inspired by Lois Gunden, an American professor who taught and hid Jewish children from the Nazis. Feel free to look closer at the individual pieces. She rescued many Jewish children from concentration camps and hid them in The Villa St. Christophe children’s home for Spanish children. The wood piece, apple, and pencil represent that she was a teacher. The Oxford Book of English Verse is a book she could have used in teaching. The first fifteen pages are quotes from Lois Gunden’s journal. The hole in the book holds items that Lois would have written about, such as: pictures of the children she helped, a Bible (she was a Mennonite), the Republican Spanish Flag because she also helped those children, and the star of David which represents the Jewish people.”
Third place, art: Melina Williams has taken third place in the Spokane Community Observance of the Holocaust’s sixth annual Art Contest for her artwork, “A Hero’s Journal.” Williams is a 10th-grade student of Eric Havermann at TEC at Bryant in Spokane.