Superintendent of Public Instruction Sherri Ybarra encourages students in grades 7 through 12 across the state to enter her fifth annual Picture My Future Art Contest. This opportunity allows students to share their personal visions of life after high school, whether it is higher education, work or other pursuits. Winning art will be displayed in a State Department of Education publication and on the SDE website.
2022 Picture My Future Contest Winner
WINNING ARTWORK
- Jaanai Guajardo
- 11th Grade
- Idaho Arts Charter School
“It’s a singular image, at a singular moment, and it makes us think. It captures the difficulties of this long-running pandemic and the strength and caring that help us persevere. It also drives home the importance of caring for students’ mental, emotional and behavioral health as well as their academic achievement.” - Superintendent Ybarra
“When asked to do an art piece of what you’ll want to become in the future, I thought about becoming a psychologist. As someone that struggles with social anxiety, I want to be able to help people that go through the same things as me. I then drew what it meant to me -- what having a mental illness is like -- and then I drew how a psychologist helps overcome those struggles. … The hand on the bottom is the one that is struggling with their illness and they are drowning in their problems, and the hand on the top is reaching out to the other hand, trying to help them overcome their struggles and help them reach happiness.” - Jaanai Guajardo