Page 13 - Florida Sentinel 8-19-16 Online Edition

FLORIDA SENTINEL FRIDAY, AUGUST 19, 2016
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Blake High Grad Wins The Links, Inc. National Poster Contest
AMANDA GOODWIN
BY GWEN HAYES Sentinel Editor
The art of a 2016 graduate of Howard W. Blake High School won the National Poster Contest hosted by The Links, Incorporated. The an- nouncement was made during the National Assembly held June 29-July 3, 2016 in Las Vegas.
Amanda Goodwin, who is counting down the days be- fore she will start classes at the University of Tampa as a fresh- man, won the 16-18-year-old division. Her art won a $750 prize. Amanda’s entry was one of more than 200 intro- duced at the Assembly. She was also the Southern Area winner of more than 70 chap- ters in the South.
Amanda pulled her art piece together from the organi- zation’s theme: “Healthy, En- ergetic, Active Lifestyles Matter: Make Health A Habit.” Her thought was that the poster should be about healthy eating and being active.
Amanda’s art piece that won the national award from The Links, Incorporated.
Explaining how it all came together, Amanda said she used photo shop to manipulate the different letters. She then found healthy fruits, sports trinkets and used lots of pop- ping colors. She then used dif- ferent trees in the background to make it look like a jungle in 3D.
Amanda, the daughter of Rev. Dr. Gerald Goodwin, is excited about studying at the University of Tampa, starting in a few days. Her focus will be on International Business Re- lations and Entrepreneurship, with a minor in Psychology.
At Blake, Amanda was athletically active, participat- ing in track and field, soccer (goalie), flag football (corner/punter); and she took ballet and modern dancing.
Amanda has a sister, Ashley and a brother, An- drew.
Mrs. Evelyn Davenport Bethune serves as Chair of The Arts Facet of The Tampa Chapter of the Links, Inc. Her committee consisted of Casey Curry, Paula Sheehy Snow
and Kendra Frorup, an Arts Professor at the University of Tampa.
They were instrumental in the chapter having 36 entries from students at Progress Vil- lage Middle Magnet School and Blake High School. The Chapter Committee chose 3 pieces to enter into the Na- tional contest.
After retiring, Mrs. Bethune moved back to her hometown, Tampa. A career counselor, she had spent 20 years working at the Design and Architecture Senior High School (DASH) in the Miami- Dade community.
The experiences at DASH enabled her to see the need to support and advocate for stu- dents with talent. As a result, she was moved to work with the fine arts educators at Blake, her high school alma mater, to put the spotlight on students.
“The first day meeting the students and giving them an overview regarding our healthy living guidelines for our poster art national competition, I
MRS. EVELYN DAVENPORT BETHUNE
knew this was an award-win- ning group of students,” she said.
“I was overjoyed to be given the news that Amanda was 1st place winner represent- ing The Tampa Chapter of The Links, Incorporated on the Southern Area and National levels. I believe this experience will become a motivating fac- tor for more student participa- tion,” she concluded.
Mrs. Casey Curry, an in- structor at Blake High, said: “Amanda is an amazing, tal- ented and well-rounded young woman who will go far.
“I have to give recognition to Blake High School. Blake is one of the best kept artistic se- crets in this community. We know its rich history, but its in- fluence in the arts is outstand- ing, too. Blake produces some amazing performing, visual and literary arts students – students with immense talent who win major awards on a local, state and national level. The caliber of students we have
MRS. CASEY CURRY
at Blake – musicians, writers, dancers, painters, photogra- phers, videographers, etc. – take all of the courses man- dated by the School District, and 2 courses in their chosen arts field. They spend addi- tional time in the studio re- hearsing, practicing, doing whatever it takes for their craft, and are often in school well past the school day.
Continuing, she said: “I am so proud of The Links Incorpo- rated, locally and nationally and the recognition it receives. So many of our members don’t have children at home, they have raised their children, yet they consistently mentor, teach and support young peo- ple, pouring into and lifting an- other generation.
“People often say people don’t give back, don’t help each other, but I can say that The Links is an organization of women who continue to find helpful, useful and innovative ways to do just that – give back.”
Former Blake Student Graduates From Art Institute
A 2011 Howard W. Blake graduate earned his degree after 4 years of study at the New Hampshire Institute of Art.
Gustan Joseph graduated from Blake in 2011, and enrolled at the art institute in 2012. Joseph graduated on May 22, 2016.
According to his mother,
Ms. Sabrina Thompson, Gustan has always had an in- terest in art. His art skills started to take form when he was a stu- dent at Memorial Middle School. His early development prepared him for the career he desired in art once he reached Blake High.
Now that he has graduated, Ms. Thompson says Gustan is working 2 jobs – at the art in- stitute and at Michael’s.
Gustan Joseph, right, is shown with his mother, Ms. Sabrina Thompson, center, and her friend, Johnny Green when he gradu- ated from New Hampshire Institute of Art.
Samples of the art Gustan Joseph has done. The gentleman on the right is a self-portrait.