With the holidays in full swing and Christmas right around the corner, several events, contests and giveaways are underway to celebrate the festive season. Pasco-Hernando State College is even getting in the winter spirit with its first annual Presidential Holiday Card Contest.
Last week, the college named their student and recent graduate, Athena Colvin, the winner of this contest. The holiday competition was hosted by PHSC President Jesse Pisors, Ed.D. and he presented a prize check for $500 to Colvin personally.
Beyond the monetary reward, Colvin’s artwork is set to be featured on PHSC’s official 2024 holiday card to boot.
“Athena did wonderfully to encapsulate the PHSC brand,” said President Pisors. “Her design was savvy towards what we needed, it was on brand, one thousand percent PHSC.”
Ms. Colvin’s design was selected out of more than 40 other candidates’ submissions spread across the college’s several campuses. The Graphic Design and Multimedia Tech Program student’s winning artwork was particularly inspired by her Portfolio class, which sees students crafting graphics around a client’s brand and envisioning what the buyer would want.
“I wanted this submission to be the final piece of my portfolio project, so I focused on the branding and colors,” Colvin said. “I feel like my work came out to be simple, but effectively simple. I didn’t have to follow strict guidelines, so I was able to put my own artistic twist on the submission while staying within PHSC’s branding.”
According to a press release from PHSC’s Marketing and Communications Coordinator Amanda Folsom, the college is looking to host more such competitions moving forward in an effort to bring the PHSC community together and “connect the gap” between the corporate and art worlds.
As the creative Colvin can attest, these exercises also provide something a little less tangible to the contestants themselves, beyond just the physical reward.
“I like to boost myself up and give my self-confidence that I’d be the winner, but actually winning has made me feel like all my hard work is being recognized – it’s a major confidence boost,” stated Colvin.
