Utah’s only national winner of the 2009 PTA Reflections contest, Monika Kowalski, met with Senator Bob Bennett (R-Utah) this week, before heading to Washington, D.C. where her work will be prominently displayed.
“I am always pleased when one of Utah’s talented students is recognized at a national level,” said Bennett. “The Reflections contest highlights some of our brightest and most creative students, and to receive national recognition for any piece of work is an accomplishment of which all Utahns should take note.”
Kowalski, a seventh grader at Butler Middle School in Salt Lake City, was named an Award of Excellence winner in the visual arts category in the 2009 National PTA Reflections contest for her painting, Magic Castle. The painting will be displayed at the National Board of Education for the next month, alongside just 40 other pieces of artwork from around the country. Kowalski and her family attended the opening reception of the Reflections display on Jan. 15 in Washington, D.C.
More than 55,000 students entered the Reflections contest in Utah this past year. Twenty-four of those entries made it to the national level. Just three winners from across the country were named in each category, including Kowalski who won in the visual arts category. The Reflections contest was started nearly 40 years ago to encourage students to pursue artistic expression.
Senator Bennett meets with Utah’s National Reflections contest winner
"Senator Bob Bennett meets with National Reflection contest winner, Monika Kowalski and her family in his Utah office. Monika is holding her winning painting in the photo."