By Dannicka McGrath, Photographer
Looking for an opportunity to engage in competition, earn money, and connect with Newman’s history?
The Student Heritage Month contest runs from Saturday through Feb 18 and encourages students to find inspiration from Newman’s two most important historical figures: Saint Maria De Mattias, founder of the Sisters of the Adorers of the Blood of Christ, and Saint John Henry Newman.
This year's contest is focused on Saint Maria De Mattias and her quote “Let your guiding impulse be love.” Sister Therese Wetta, Newman’s director of mission integration and the head of Heritage Month activities, said that Heritage Month helps students reflect on Newman’s founders’ principles.
“The contest is always to get students to think something about either Saint Newman or Maria and how they can influence lives today,” she said.
The Student Heritage Month contest started during the 2014-2015 school year. The first year, students were asked to submit essays, but since then, more categories have been added. This year, the contest categories are essay, visual art piece, TikTok video (added two years ago), and poem (added this year).
Something else new this year: No entries created using artificial intelligence will be accepted. “Because AI is so much more in use a year later, we thought, ‘No, we want this to be the students' original work,’” Wetta said.
The winners will present their entries at the Newman Board of Trustees meeting at the end of this month and explain what inspired them to create their pieces, how that influenced their creative process, and how they related to St. Maria’s story.
Three overall winners will get cash prizes. The first-place winner will receive $150, and the second and third-place winners will each receive $75.
John Suffield, a 2024 graduate, has been the first-place winner for the last three years with entries from the visual art category. As a former art major, he entered the contest to show off his artistic talent and because he finds the contest competition fun.
He said that his main takeaway was that art can really impact people.
“To see their reactions and how much it inspired them showed how much they appreciated it,” Suffield said. “When you're just drawing a picture or painting something you don’t realize the impact it can have.”
His advice to anyone wanting to apply this year is, “Start as soon as you can and don’t procrastinate because it only makes it harder, and you feel like you don’t do as good as you feel you could have.”
Those interested in competing should submit their entries by email to Sister Wetta at wettat@newmanu.edu no later than Feb 18. For more details, look for the posters about the contest posted around campus or contact Sister Wetta.
She advises students to just “go for it.”
PHOTO: Courtesy, John Suffield
