Photo by: Will Gentry
Artistically inclined students participated in a national competition to see how their work measures up. Many of them received ADDY awards from the American Advertising Federation.
“When I found out I won anything locally I freaked out a little bit,” senior Haley Ashenbrener said. “I was like, ‘OK that’s cool I did something with that project somewhere down the line’. … It was really cool.”
One of the pluses to submitting art to the ADDY awards is the simplicity of the process. Both professionals and student designers can enter the competition, but in different sects.
This year was the first year any Oklahoma Christian students submitted their work.
“Pretty much you just submit your art,” Ashenbrener said. “[Also] what your name is, who you were inspired by … what school you’re with … and who your advisor is. But that’s it.”
Professor of Art and Design Michael O’Keefe encouraged his students to submit their work because of his prior experience with the program.
“I was in the ADDYs for about 10 years,” O’Keefe said. “And I continued to win local and regional awards in the ADDYs so this is nothing new to me, there are no surprises.”
The six students who placed in the competition are Ashenbrener, sophomore Janey Weast, senior Elizabeth Juge, senior Kendra Ribble, senior Joanna Sutton and junior Hayley Waldo.
O’Keefe specifically told each of the students which art pieces he wanted them to submit.
Sutton explained that O’Keefe had contacted her about entering into the competition.
“[O’Keefe] sent out an email a while ago … for everyone to apply and to send something into the ADDY awards,” Sutton said. “I ignored his email because communication design is not my major, it’s my minor. … But then he specifically emailed like four or five of us and told us what he wanted us to send into the ADDY awards, and that made me feel a little more special because I was like, ‘Oh, he actually has something specific in mind that he wanted sent in.”
Sutton’s project demonstrated that the size of the piece doesn’t necessarily dictate the success.
“We had to brand something in my class, so I branded myself and I branded myself as a designer,” Sutton said. “My submission was coasters … I guess they would be to send out to people who hired me as a freelancer. They were five coasters and they were quotes having to deal with the ocean … it was a lot of typography pretty much.”
O’Keefe said he was not surprised that his students won the awards.
While O’Keefe was confident in the work done by his students, some of the students did not share his state of mind.
“Our plan was to make T-shirt designs,” Ashenbrener said of her project. “… My theme was kind of ‘Go outside,’ just a simple statement, kind of a command at the same time. … [I] didn’t really expect gold; I didn’t even expect that I would make it into the award process or anything. … I was not super confident in the piece, maybe because it was such an old one from my portfolio.”
Ashenbrener elaborated on the role that O’Keefe played in choosing her particular project.
“He actually told me do this one and turn it in,” Ashenbrener said. “I pretty much forgot about that piece I did six months before the entrance and everything, but he really wanted me to do that one. … He was my professor for that certain project, so he saw my process through it, so I think he saw my growth and how I came from where I started to where I am.”
According to O’Keefe, the ADDY awards provide an opportunity for professionals to compare students from Oklahoma Christian with art students from other universities.
In addition to the opportunity the students received, Oklahoma Christian also gained visibility among those present at the awards held in Oklahoma City. The event is one of the largest of the year, hosting 600 to 700 people.
“We were already well known, but this is a platform for 700 people in the industry in one night to see our student work up on the screen,” O’Keefe said. “… In fact, Jordan Associates is a major advertising agency in the state, [and] they called me after the awards and said they loved what they saw and they want to build a relationship with us for interns.”
As demonstrated with the awards this year, Oklahoma Christian students who received recognition and praise for their efforts will be sure to reap the benefits of their success in the months to come.
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