Pride Pays Off for 40 Artistic Students

Forty students were awarded $100 savings bonds this week for taking first place in TransWorld Bank’s sixth annual Pacoima Pride Arts Project.

TransWorld, which operates the only bank in Pacoima, started the art contest in 1990 to encourage Pacoima schoolchildren to take pride in their community.

“The main idea is getting the kids involved, getting them to think about how they can improve their lives through education and through working with others in their community,” said TransWorld Vice President Elizabeth Nielsen

On Tuesday evening, the winning students and their families joined TransWorld officials and City Councilman Richard Alarcon at an awards ceremony. Mary Immaculate School sixth-grader Veronica Barba was named the grand prize winner.

The theme of this year’s project was “My Life, Our Future,” which was meant to stress the importance of individual responsibility and civic contribution, Nielsen said.

“Veronica’s art was judged the most exceptional,” she said. “She depicted a girl like herself sitting and thinking about things she could do in the future.”

As the grand prize winner, Veronica received a $200 savings bond and $100 in cash.

In addition to Mary Immaculate, the schools participating this year included Haddon Avenue Elementary, Montague Charter Academy, Pacoima Elementary, Telfair Avenue Elementary and Vaughn Next Century Learning Center.

A first-place winner was selected from each grade level at each school, and more than 150 second-place and honorable mention winners received framed photographs of their artwork, Nielsen said.