Michelle Akamine, a 12th-grade student at Culver City High School, was one of three grand prize winners in the West Basin Municipal Water District’s annual Water is Life Student Art Contest. The district’s board of directors presented awards to three grand prize winners, and 12 honorable mention student winners on April 25.
More than 300 entries were submitted this year from public and private schools throughout West Basin’s service area, a WBMWD official said.
Akamine won in the high school division.
Joli Garcia, a fourth-grader at Farragut Elementary School was an honorable mention winner in the art contest.
Winning artwork was chosen based on the creativity of students’ portrayal of water conservation messages coupled with their artistic skills. One grand prize each was
awarded in the elementary, middle and high school categories and all student winners received an iPad Air.
“This is one of my favorite water education programs that we look forward to every year,” said board President Carol W. Kwan. “It’s a great opportunity for students to illustrate creative water conservation messages with original artwork. We thank all the students who participated and the teachers in our service area who continue to help promote water conservation in the classroom.”
Grand prize winners from this year’s contest include:
1. Diego Gonzalez, Grade 5, Beulah Payne Elementary School, Inglewood
2. Juan Orozco, Grade 7, Prairie Vista Middle School, Hawthorne
3. Michelle Akamine, Grade 12, Culver City High School, Culver City
The 12 honorable mention award winners were:
1. Minji Kang, Grade 5, Lunada Bay Elementary School, Palos Verdes
2. Miki Uchida, Grade 3, Pennekamp Elementary School, Manhattan Beach
3. Joli Garcia, Grade 4, Farragut Elementary School, Culver City
4. Jocelin Sanchez, Grade 3, 156th Street Elementary School, Gardena
5. Jacqueline Chui, Grade 7, Chadwick School, Palos Verdes
6. Ariella Figueroa, Grade 6, Oak Street K-6 School, Inglewood
7. Evgeniya Bozhko, Grade 8, Manhattan Beach Middle School, Manhattan
Beach
8. N.K. Soon, Grade 6, El Segundo Middle School, El Segundo
9. Jasmine Park, Grade 10, Palos Verdes Peninsula High School, Palos
Verdes
10. Fabian Martinez, Grade 11, Inglewood High School, Inglewood
11. Sonia Araujo, Grade 12, Hawthorne High School, Hawthorne
12. Hannah Cho, Grade 10, West High School, Torrance
Part of West Basin’s program to foster the awareness of water
conservation, particularly during this time of drought, the Water is Life
Student Art Contest encourages third through twelfth grade students to
create a water conservation message and illustrate it with original
artwork. The 2016 art contest was sponsored by the law firm of Lemieux
O’Neill, the Water Replenishment District of Southern California, and SUEZ
North America.
For more information about the Water is Life Student Art Contest and to
learn more about West Basin’s education programs, visit
www.westbasin.org.