Before summer gets into full swing, I strongly encourage and invite all secondary and post-secondary graphic communications students to submit their favorite print from this year in the 2019 ASDPT Tom Frecska Student Printing Competition!
It’s an opportunity to not only take pride in what you achieved, but to also show off your hard work to the printing industry at large (all entries will be displayed in the PRINTING United Golden Image Gallery).
Take it from Jose Revuelta, a student at Pasadena City College, who was encouraged to enter in 2018 and won the post-secondary Best of Show. “I had completed the largest and most complex print in my first-ever screen printing class, and my instructor told me to submit it. And since it was a political print, I was hoping to get some good reactions.”
While Revuelta’s piece clearly had some good reactions, judging proves to be an increasingly difficult feat with the impressive quality of students’ work year after year. Three Academy of Screen and Digital Printing Technologies (ASDPT) members will judge the competition on-site at PRINTING United, taking place in Dallas October 23 - 25. One judge, who’s participated in multiple years, weighed in on the amazing work he’s seeing from today’s graphic communications programs:
“Each year, I am always pleased when I am chosen to be a judge for the student printing competition. The last few years I have seen some very outstanding entries, and it always brings a smile to my face when I see a great print and realize this is the 'student' section of the competition [aside from the Golden Image and Product of the Year Competitions]. I think a lot of teachers are stepping up their game and encouraging kids to enter. There are so many entries now that it often takes longer to judge the student category than the rest. My hats off to the schools that are really taking printing seriously and teaching the kids current methods and techniques.”
Our SGIA hats also go off to our Educational Institution Members making their mark in the printing industry by supporting their students. Mark Snyder, a Graphic Communication Professor at Millersville University, encourages his students to enter every year.
“Student competitions provide an opportunity for students to set their sights on industry-wide evidence of their achievements,” he said. “Class projects/activities become meaningful when there is such a challenge. In my estimation, students who accept that challenge, and work toward a higher standard of accomplishment, are those who will become future leaders. Even if they don’t win the highest award, the effort toward that goal is significant evidence of their character.”
This year’s competition closes on September 13, but don’t hesitate! Students can submit entries online now and mail them to SGIA headquarters any time prior. I should also mention there is a cash prize! The secondary and post-secondary Best of Show winners receive $500 each, with SGIA providing an additional $500 back to those two students’ graphic communications programs.
Could you/your program be this year’s winner? As Revuelta says, “You won't know unless you apply. Plus, it's free to enter. When I found out I had won, my birthday was five days prior, so it felt like the best birthday I’d had in a while.”
Learn more about the decade-long history of the competition.