Young Talents Receive Gold Medal Awards at 

High School of Art & Design 

The High School of Art & Design, located in East Midtown on East 56th Street near Second Avenue, held its Senior Awards Ceremony on Friday, June 17, 2022. Artistically talented youngsters from all five boroughs attend this school, which specializes in the Visual Commercial Arts in Animation, Architecture/Interior Design, Cartooning, Fashion Design, Film/Video, Graphic Design, Illustration, and Photography.

Outstanding graduates over the years include Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs, Art Spiegelman...and Tony Bennett.  (Yes, he’s a fine artist as well as a great singer.)  

Among the many award winners on Friday night were two seniors who received special Gold Medal Awards from FAD (Friends of Art & Design) - the all-volunteer organization of community members who work to help the students succeed... including through the awarding of cash prizes for excellence and securing internships in local businesses to provide students with practical experience. 

The winner of the Yu Sai Kan Gold Medal Award for Excellence in Film and Video was Sekou Cherif, who will be studying film and business at Franklin & Marshall College.  Sekou's lifetime ambition is to one day create his own movie production company.

The winner of the Tina Li and Donald Sheff Gold Medal Award for Excellence in Architecture/Interior Design is Katerina Anastasopoulos, who has a scholarship to Syracuse University, where she intends to major in Environmental Interior Design.  Her credo:  The designer must always be chasing small bits of inspiration and look at life with a freshness and excitement that is contagious. 

Congratulations to both these students!  To read more about Sekou and Katerina, scroll down.

Other FAD Award recipients for 2022 were:

For ANIMATION– Ellie Hui

For ARCHITECTURE – Fernanda Kligerman

For CARTOONING – Sophia Ng

For FASHION DESIGN – Samantha Sanders

For FILM / VIDEO – Annel Tula Nocelotl

For GRAPHIC DESIGN – Laura Marmol

For ILLUSTRATION – Emma Alonso

and

For PHOTOGRAPHY – Esmeralda Paredes

If you would like to help HSAD students achieve their goals by offering them a monetary award in your name...or a bit of your time...or a paid internship in your business, please email: tina.sheff@yahoo.com

SEKOU CHERIF
Recipient of the Yu Sai Kan Gold Meda Award for Excellence in Film and Video

(edited for clarity)

I  was attracted to this field because film is a powerful vehicle to convey a message. For as long as I can remember, I have always consumed different forms of media, so when I saw a path to create videos and films of my own, I had to take it. Ultimately, I'd love to own a production company where I can have an impact on the stories on the screen.

The school project I found most interesting was the Parody Project, where my group and I chose to create a parody of The Bachelor. It was interesting to put a satirical twist on such an already ridiculous premise for a show.

I won a bronze film award sophomore year, and was nominated for the Reel Works award for outstanding filmmaking, scholastic honorable mention. Now I'll be going to Franklin and Marshall College, thanks to my Posse Scholarship, where I plan to double major in Film & Media and Business, Organization, and Society... or "Film and Business," for short.

KATERINA ANASTASOPOULOS
Recipient of the Tina Li and Dinald Sheff Gold Medal Award for Excellence in Architecture/Interior Design

What attracted you to this field?

My mother is a licensed architect and has a background in art and architecture. She has given me the chance to see what goes on behind the scenes in her creative endeavors for as long as I remember. Through her, I have experienced the design process first hand, and what finalizing a project entails. She always encouraged me to meet professionals in creative fields in order to learn directly from them.

My most formative moment occurred when I was thirteen and I shadowed the president of Carnegie Fabrics in the workplace. This was an inspirational experience for me because I observed the artists engage with the various elements that inspired them to create fabrics and textiles. I observed the way different materials affected the creative processes. Even though my mom works in the architecture field and I had seen all the
materials the designers use, I had never seen the process of designing a fabric up close. Being surrounded by all of the beautiful, colorful fabrics at Carnegie Fabrics was like nothing else I had experienced before. 

After spending time with the talented and kind designers, I knew what I wanted to do in the future. Listening to the designers’ stories about how they got to where they were inspired me to follow my passion. It’s amazing how the artists drew inspiration from simple things that they may have seen and consistently made something beautiful out of small ideas. In many cases, these were things that an average person would not notice. Despite making different designs everyday, they had the capacity to come up with more variations of simple designs. The freshness of their creative energy is something that I
will always carry with me.

What school project did you find most interesting and why?

Last year, I was assigned an architecture project to design a courthouse in our neighborhood. This was a competition between different groups of students where our projects would be submitted to a real judge and then adjudicated. We had to determine the type of courthouse, and then, based on that decision, we needed to research what facilities were needed. We had to find a location for the courthouse. My team decided to renovate a building that was previously the RKO Keith's Theater. The building was owned at different times by different developers, and, because they did not respect the space, it was in horrible condition.

Along with keeping the condition in mind, this project had additional challenges. We had to navigate landmark restrictions that required research. Also, working online during the pandemic was difficult. It was hard to communicate through the screen. This project taught me to be a leader and to take initiative because I needed to keep people motivated to complete their share of the work, all while getting everyone in the group to cooperate. The project required us to work together and to stay organized. 

Eventually, I found ways to inspire people to put their best efforts forward when their motivation lulled. There were many different aspects of the design that needed to be completed, which meant that we had to divide the work between people, closely attend to time management and use software such as AutoCAD. While working on this project, I refined my public speaking skills for our final presentation. Even though it was quite a challenge, this project granted me the opportunity to gain real world experience in design. It gave me a glimpse of the kind of work I look forward to completing as a professional interior designer in the future.

What other awards, if any, have you won?

- Visual and Performing Arts Leadership Scholarship at Syracuse University
- Principal's Honor Roll
- The Holy Three Hierarchs Award of Excellence in the Comprehensive Examination in Modern Greek (Regent’s Level)

Where are you going to school in the fall?

I will be attending Syracuse University, and I will be majoring in Environmental Interior Design.

What do you hope to achieve during your lifetime in this field?

After graduating, I hope to find a job as an interior designer that also offers opportunities for long term growth within the firm. Ideally, the job would also offer opportunities for me to travel and potentially live abroad. As I experience these new opportunities, I will continue to grow personally and professionally, developing my life goals and aspirations as I work hard.

Additionally, I would like to create spaces for people that have a positive impact on them. Design impacts how we feel daily. A good design keeps the client in mind; relies on the principles of design such as structure, color, contrast, balance and dimension; conveys a clear meaning and message; and keeps the space and measurements in mind. Each client is different, demanding that a broad range of projects be produced. The designer must always be chasing small bits of inspiration and look at life with a freshness and excitement that is contagious. . As a designer, I hope to achieve this for my future clients