Juvenile Court recognizes Art Scholarship Contest winners
NEW PHILADELPHIA (WJER) (April 26, 2023) – The gallery inside Tuscarawas County’s juvenile courtroom has doubled in size after a reception recognizing this year’s Art Scholarship Contest winners.
Dover’s Alyssa Renicker took the top prize in the competition for graduating high school seniors, who were invited to submit artwork reflecting their plans for the future or what they will be doing after graduation. Judge Adam Wilgus says he and his staff ended up reviewing about 20 submissions compared to just a handful for their first Art Scholarship Contest last year.
“My coworkers here at the Juvenile Court take a look at the different submissions, and then we kind of narrowed it down and then I made the final decision. It was a lot more difficult this year because there were so many talented people that submitted artwork. It really is amazing the artistic talent we have here in Tuscarawas County for our juveniles.”
The runner-up was Indian Valley senior Maggie Johnson, who received $250 to put toward her post-secondary education. Renicker won a $500 scholarship, and they both got to hang their paintings on a wall in the courtroom next to last year’s winners.
“I think it’s neat for kids to come in and see work that was done by their peers. Down the road, of course, I’ve invited Alyssa and Maggie to come back when they get older, and they will always be able to come back and see their artwork.”
Renicker will be attending the Culinary Institute of America in New York come fall, while Johnson plans to study medicine at Ohio State University.