Brazoswood senior receives art scholarship

“The idea of the scholarship is to encourage and recognize excellence,” Art League Chairman Ron White said. “It was named after a past president, Bruce Good, who taught in the district for many, many years, and as far as art education down here, he was one of the foundational teachers.”

Works from seven students were featured this year, one from Brazosport Christian School and the remainder were from Brazoswood High School. Each submitted a proposal of six pieces that were voted on by art league members to determine the scholarship recipient.

“Seeing their progress is one of the most rewarding things about being a teacher at this level," Brazoswood art teacher Emily Espeche said. "For most of these kids, I’ve had them for three or four years. They work really, really hard and this is kind of a culmination of that. Because it’s their last real event as seniors and they get to display a collection of their favorite artworks that they’ve done.”

The scholarship helps open the door to options for the winner, whether it be to study art or to follow other career paths. Winner Aretzie Baeza of Brazoswood plans to use the scholarship to attend Brazosport College to become a registered nurse.

“I am very shocked. I was not expecting it to be honest. There’s such amazing artwork here," she said. "This scholarship gives me the chance to go to college and I am very grateful for that.”

Lowell Good, son of Bruce Good, encouraged the students to continue with their art in the future no matter what they choose to do.

“There’s plenty of ugly in the world and we need more art,: he said. "When you see the fine arts that come out of this community, it is pretty incredible."

This scholarship, the art league and the Center for the Arts and Sciences help foster the arts in the community and allow it to grow, he said. 

Students’ portfolios will continue to hang in the gallery through Saturday. The public can view the works from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday at the gallery at the Center for the Arts and Sciences, 400 College Blvd. Admission is free.