Senior Lian Boone and Junior Jacqueline Rand won awards recently at the East Texas State Fair. Boone won awards in art and photography and Rand won a speaking event.

“It’s always great to see students in different activities, excelling in all capacity,” Principal Jeremy Chilek said. “I am very proud of Lian and Jacqueline and appreciate them representing our campus so well.”

In the category for 13-17 year old human interest, Boone placed first for her painting of her nephew on the beach looking for crabs. For her three photos, Boone placed first, received an honorable mention and a participation award. For her photo of children playing on the beach, she placed first in her category, received best of show for amateurs, and best of age group. 

“I was not expecting my pieces to do as well as they did, especially for it being the first time I had entered the fair,” Boone said. “It was a pleasant surprise to say the least. I get excited when I win because it motivates me to create more and let’s me know people actually like my work.” 

Rand spoke in Senior Prepared Public Speaking on the topic of Blockchain cryptocurrency and was awarded Grand Champion. She spoke twice, once in a morning preliminary round and then in a finals round. This was her sixth year competing at the fair.

“When the finals placing were announced and I realized I had won, I was super excited that my topic had stood out and resonated with the audience,” Rand said. “I received a lot of good feedback and critiques that I will definitely utilize to better my presentation and hopefully continue to succeed throughout the season.”