On Tuesday, May 15th, Wolcott Technical School’s Jessica Bennett and Amanda Yorker were honored at the Legislative Office Building for their winning entries in the artwork portion of a state-wide competition ranging from grade 1 to grade 12. There was also an essay portion.

The contest was entitled “Coping in an Uncertain World: Students Thoughts on Safety, Conflicts, and Homeland Security.” It was sponsored by the Connecticut Commission on Children, the Department of Education, and the Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security.

Beginning at 10 AM, the winning students, their teachers, parents, assorted dignitaries, and legislators, were treated to a display of all the artwork and individual readings of the winning essays. The ceremony included a presentation of 32 lilies in remembrance of the Virginia Tech students, followed by a discussion of those events and how people cope with life-changing situations.

The Wolcott Tech students were accompanied by Principal Daniel Kushman and their art teacher Cheryl McDowell. Mrs. McDowell expressed how very pleased she was both by the elaborate event that honored her students, and their interest and enthusiasm for participating in the contest.

The students were given six themes to choose from to base their creations on. Jessica Bennett, a 12th grade student in Graphic Communications, based her work on the question, “How do you explain terrorism to a child?” She explained that the idea for her entry came to her because she so vividly remembered all the fire shown on TV during the 9/11 attacks. Her work is purposely burned at the edges and shows a representation of the Trade Center towers with more burn holes in them. “I was a bit nervous watching her burn that paper,” remembered Mrs. McDowell. “I made her go outside and hide behind a tree.”

Amanda Yorker, an 11th grade student, also in Graphic Communications, responded to the question, “Who is your everyday hero?” Her piece shows a downtown New York with the Trade Center towers still standing. Displayed above this scene are the hats of the NYFD and NYPD. “My step-dad is on the fire department in West Hartford,” explained Amanda. “He is also an MP in the army and will be going back for his second tour of duty in Iraq soon. I got the idea for the poster because of him.”