For Immediate Release:
Contact: Corey Harbaugh, Curriculum Director
corey.harbaugh@ppps.org
269-415-5200
Paw Paw, MI – Kylee Soto, a talented tenth-grade student at Cedar Street’s Aspire Academy, recently learned that her artwork was selected as a top ten finalist in The Henry Pestka Art & Poetry Contest. She has been invited and is planning to attend a competition event in May at Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, where she will be recognized. At that time, the top three finalists for each grade level will receive certificates, gifts, and cash awards. Her artwork, as well as the other finalists, will be on display at Meijer Gardens in a gallery-style format.
To understand the true significance of Kylee’s work is to understand Henry Pestka, the theme of the contest: Never Forget, and the artist.
The man: Henry Pestka was a Holocaust survivor. In 1944, he and two other prisoners escaped from a concentration camp and were found by members of the Free French Army. Henry joined the Polish Battalion and was a decorated combat veteran. Tragically, he was the only Holocaust survivor in his family. Henry immigrated to the U.S. and settled in Grand Rapids, where he and his business partner began developing shopping centers, office buildings, restaurants, apartment complexes and industrial buildings. According to his obituary, Henry’s proudest achievement was his tenure as building chairperson for Congregation Ahavas Israel, where in the foyer of the synagogue is a mural depicting the innocent victims of Nazi Genocide. His uniquely American life was a testament to overcoming horrific adversity.
The theme: As for interpreting the theme: Never Forget, contest applicants were encouraged to make their creative work compelling, engaging and clear. Coordinated through the West Michigan Holocaust Partnership and designed for students who have completed the Michigan state requirement on Holocaust education, the purpose of the contest is to bring Holocaust awareness and education to West Michigan students in grades 6 – 12. The contest provides an opportunity for students to process and reflect on what they have learned through writing or art.
The artist: In Kylee’s words, she explains the vision behind her submission, “In the background is the Free French Army Flag. They saved him (Henry Pestka), and he joined it, so that’s why I did the flag. I chose the Jude flag because that’s the Jewish symbol they wore on their arms, but I didn’t want it to be just a flag with the symbol. I wanted it to be more creative. That’s why I put it in a breaking wall because he survived, broke through and made it to freedom. The barbed wire means that he was trapped, the wall breaking through means that he was freed, and the candle is for the light at the end of the tunnel.”
According to Kylee’s English Language Arts Teacher Sarah Chandler, “Kylee is motivated by anything art driven. She is a wonderful student! She works hard, and she is not afraid to ask questions. I do not know if she has a personal connection to the Holocaust, but I know she had a lesson in her history class last trimester, and we have discussed various Holocaust pieces in my classroom. Most of my students know that I have a very personal connection to the Holocaust because both of my dad’s parents were Holocaust survivors.”
When asked when she became interested in art and what made her enter the contest, Kylee said, “My Mom would say I’ve liked art ever since I could pick a pencil. It’s basically been all of my life, and art has been an easy way for me to escape. I like to do meaningful art. Because it was about the Holocaust, it made me want to do it even more.”
Kylee’s exciting news is spreading quickly throughout the district. Cedar Street Campus Director Beckah Chartier had this to say, “I’m super proud that she took the initiative to put the artwork out there. It took a lot of courage and confidence, and our entire Cedar Street staff is extremely proud of her.”
Paw Paw Public Schools’ Curriculum Director Corey Harbaugh, a national expert in the field of Holocaust education, explains the significance of Kylee’s work, “Kylee’s piece is a wonderful combination of historic and symbolic elements that honors and bears witness to an incredible story of both tragedy and survival,” Harbaugh said. “Kylee’s work also serves as an example of the kind of civic engagement and authentic learning we want for our students, connecting classroom lessons of Holocaust history with powerful artwork that can reach audiences far outside the classroom walls.”
Kylee is the daughter of Terica Soto and stepdaughter of Charles Sikora. She plans to continue her work as an artist and would eventually like to pursue a career in graphic design.
# # #