Out of hundreds of unique art pieces entered in the area Visual Arts Scholastic Event, the work of 10 Socorro Independent School District students qualified for the state level this spring.

Traditionally, the students travel to San Marcos for the state VASE competition, but the event was not held in person this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, an electronic judging process still recognized the outstanding artwork at the state level.

Seven of the 10 SISD students who advanced to state earned a division four rating for their art pieces, which is the highest possible rating.

“This is not just a contest,” said SISD Visual Arts Specialist Macka Jones about VASE. “These students get interviewed by the judges to talk about their work and I think it really prepares them for their futures.”

The area VASE contest was at Hanks High School in February. From there judges selected the SISD students be among the artists from the El Paso region to advance to state, which includes 20 regions in Texas.

When students advance from the regional level, certified Texas Art Education Association (TAEA) jurors interview them and their artworks.

“This definitely puts them in the spotlight,” Jones said. “Since there is no UIL event, this is our major event thanks to TAEA, and the students go all out for it as you can see.”

The SISD state VASE qualifiers for 2020 were:

Eastlake High School
Carolina Fonseca

Pebble Hills High School
Viridiana Kropf
Treyden Williams
Angelica Soto 

Americas High School
Saree Renee Castaneda
Myah Gonzalez
Angela Gomez
Victor Gomez 

El Dorado High School
Roussel Acosta

Montwood High School
Noelle Serna

 Published June 25, 2020

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