Wayne Community College announced the winners of its first Ocean Awareness Contest.
The contest challenged the college’s students to “use their creative voices to explore, express, and advocate for issues related to climate change and our oceans.”
They were asked to create a piece about “a coastal/marine species, place, or system that will be threatened, altered, or lost due to climate change” and tell or show the impacts and what they “want future generations to know about marine life in 2019.”
“The Ocean Awareness Contest is my version of a larger international competition – the Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Program. The students were asked to project climate change in the medium of their choice,” explained Biology Instructor Sondi Hoffman, who spearheaded the project.
The piece could be visual art, prose, or poetry and had to be accompanied by a short, written reflection.
The winners are first place – Ande Ames for her “On Thin Ice” story,
second place – Madison Miller for her “Balancing Act” digital art,
third place – Reagan Newcomb for her ocean trash sculpture, and
honorable mentions – Felicia Audelo for her multi-media artwork and Summer Rose for her painting.
“I was incredibly proud of the students. They submitted thoughtful work and really showcased some of the talent we have here at WCC,” Hoffman said. “Protecting our planet and particularly the ocean is of utmost importance and that will only happen in a world where people are invested in it.”
Wayne Community College is a public, learning-centered institution with an open-door admission policy located in Goldsboro, N.C. As it works to develop a highly skilled and competitive workforce, the college serves 12,000 individuals annually as well as businesses, industry, and community organizations with high quality, affordable, accessible learning opportunities, including more than 70 college credit programs. WCC’s mission is to meet the educational, training, and cultural needs of the communities it serves.