High school student Nicole Stewart of Ronkonkoma, a senior at Connetquot High school, was the first place winner at the local level of The Art Institutes and Americans for the Arts “Life is Better with Art in it” Poster Design Competition. Nicole will receive a $3,000 tuition scholarship to attend The Art Institute of New York City.
As the first place winner, Nicole’s design will be entered into the national stage of the competition, in which she will compete against other local winners from across North America for tuition scholarships. The grand prize winner of the national competition will be awarded a tuition scholarship worth $25,000 to study at one of The Art Institutes schools.
The competition was open to graduating high school seniors interested in pursuing an education in graphic design. Students submitted an original poster design, a current high school transcript and a statement describing their design process, and why they want to attend one of The Art Institutes schools. From April 17 – May 8, an industry panel of judges selected by The Art Institutes will assess each student's poster design based on the specified criteria by visiting the posters and designers’ statements on The Art Institutes website.
“We were very impressed by the talent and skill that we saw displayed in the entries into this year’s Poster Design Competition, said Dr. David Warren, President of The Art Institute of New York City. Further, “these students are the future of the graphic design industry and even as seniors in high school, they already show tremendous talent.” said Dr. Warren.



