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Jacob Overholt and Connie Grabemeyer received top recognition April 15 at Southwestern Michigan College’s annual student art show in the Art Gallery of the Dale A. Lyons Building.

Overholt won the six-category Mina Peer Award, determined by popular vote as overall Best of Show.

The Mina is named for Mina Pouyamehr, an SMC student tragically killed in a 1989 car crash.

Grabemeyer garnered the President’s Choice Award from Dr. Joe Odenwald, who selected her pink rose painting as his favorite.

“I may get a little emotional here,” Odenwald said. “Connie’s piece spoke to me in a couple of ways. It reminded me of an old hymn sung at my great-grandmother’s funeral in 1996. That was really the first funeral I’d been to and the first time I lost somebody in my life. The lines talk about going to the garden while the dew is still on the roses.

“The second way it spoke to me,” he said, “is we’re now into spring semester. I was talking to our Choral Scholars who are moving on. This is a time so many of you bloom. It spoke to me in a powerful way.”

“This year we had three separate judges come in,” said Professor Sam Walker, who organized the exhibit.

The Choral Scholars, led by Director of Choral Activities David Carew, opened the event with a spiritual and a James Taylor song.

2D Design

1st Place: Kaiden Black

Honorable Mentions:

Kingston Rice

Wesley Gundlock

Andrew Bryant

3D Design

1st Place: Sammy Linn

Honorable Mentions:

Aarika Morse

Jessica Bowen 

Kaiden Black 

Drawing

1st Place: Echo Kuipers 

Honorable Mentions:

Jack Brunner 

Tressa Hullinger

Wesley Gundlock

Graphic Design

1st Place: Clara Bryant

Honorable Mentions:

Aiden Killeen

Andrew Bryant

Jaylee Reybuck

Painting

1st Place: Nicholas Patterson

Honorable Mentions:

Nathan Hetler

Rynn Smith

Shilah Semple 

Photography

1st Place: Jaylee Reybuck

Honorable Mentions:

Sam Meyer

Gracie Oleson

Luke Kish