Recently, two seniors Nikki Galvez and Clara Wallengren have been recognized by the graphic design community and have been awarded based on both their excellence and future endeavors in the field.

The Western States Printing Alliance recently honored the two at the annual Print Excellence Awards. The Graphic Communication Education Foundation awarded them both a $1,000 cash scholarship to pursue graphic design careers.

“I was really excited that my hard work in high school paid off and that I was actually getting money, which was the goal the whole time,” stated Wallengren. “Get good enough grades so you don’t have to pay for your education, [it was] another step towards that.”

Along with the Print Excellence Award, Galvez has been the first Perry student to nationally recognized at the SkillsUSA state championship for advertising design by being involved in STEM.

“I applied for their SkillsUSA STEM scholarship…” stated Galvez.  “In that [application] they asked me about what I wanted to do in college and how that matched up with STEM, and since I’m going into engineering that fits.”

Galvez’s involvement in SkillsUSA club on campus allowed more doors to open up in the graphic design field. Not only did she receive the Print Excellence scholarship but also received

$1,000 scholarship from SkillsUSA Arizona as well as from SkillsUSA STEM.

“I eventually grew to love the feeling of being able to create whatever I want out of nothing but my imagination, some training, and a computer,” Galvez,said  on pursuing graphic design.

“They are both very dedicated students, always going above and beyond expectations,” graphic design Caryn Butler said, “They also have a great sense of aesthetics and creativity.”

In addition to the awards given to these seniors, other graphic design students also received recognition at the competition. Not only does this prove the success of the program, but also demonstrates hope for growth in upcoming years.