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Some of Mercer
County's most inspired and creative high school students gathered
at Mercer County Community College's Kelsey Theatre on April 22.
With family members looking on, they were recognized for inclusion
of their work in the 2008 edition of Aspirations, an annual literary
and art journal published by the college. An 18-judge panel that
included high school teachers, college professors and graphic designers
poured over a total of 823 works submitted by 477 students, selecting
167 poems, personal essays and drawings by 135 students for this
year's publication (113 writers and 22 artists).
Welcoming the
near-capacity crowd, Associate English Professor and Aspirations
Editor Bettina Caluori said, "In these works you will encounter
curiosity, empathy, growth-in short, perspectives that are attuned
and observant...and in these pages you will see evidence of a great
deal of searching-for true friends, the right attitudes, self-understanding."
MCCC President,
Dr. Patricia Donohue, added her words of congratulations. "We
are all about learning and student success at Mercer. Tonight we
celebrate that in all of you. I applaud you for building on your
talents and sharing them with us. And I applaud your families for
supporting your efforts."
Students were
called to the stage to receive their copies of Aspirations, which
were presented by MCCC Dean of Liberal Arts, Dr. Robin Schore, and
Dean of Arts and Communication Judith Ehresman. Schools represented
included: Allentown, Hamilton West, Hightstown, Hopewell Valley,
Lawrence, Nottingham, Robbinsville, SciCore Academy, Steinert, Trenton
Catholic Academy, Trenton Central, Villa Victoria Academy and West
Windsor-Plainsboro North.
MCCC students
added their own creative touches to the stimulating evening. Fourteen
Theatre students, appearing in white clothing and make-up, read
selected poems aloud and interpreted them in evocative ways through
movement. The MCCC Jazz Band provided musical interludes, while
students from the college's Hotel, Restaurant and Institution Management
Program prepared hors d'oeuvres and desserts for the guests.
Aspirations
has been published for more than 25 years to showcase the writing
and artistic talents of area high school students. In addition to
MCCC, the publication is made possible by the Mercer County Cultural
and Heritage Commission through funding from the Mercer County Board
of Chosen Freeholders, and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department
of State, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.
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