Published: November 09, 2009 08:25 pm      

Award-winning student "a talented artist"

Emerson Cruz knows exactly how to articulate his philosophy on art.

“It’s kind of like expressing your feelings about how you think about something,” he said.

The Varnell Elementary School fifth-grader recently placed second out of 350 students around the state who competed in the Georgia Emergency Management Agency’s “Get Ready Georgia” art contest.

Emerson drew a house depicting a child inside playing a Nintendo DS. Near him is a first aid kit, a well-stocked food supply and extra clothes. An arrow and sign indicate that he’s situated in a safe house where he is staying while a tornado and thunderstorm rages outside. Above the picture, Emerson wrote the words, “Where are you going to go?”

Teacher Judy Payne said she spent about a week informing her students about emergencies and asking them to think about their own plans. A native of Somerset, Pa., Payne said she grew up living through snow storms and an era in which people prepared for the event of a nuclear attack.

“We talked about how years ago we had to do shelters and things,” she said. “He listened. He took all this in. He’s one of our smartest kids.”

Whitfield County Schools superintendent Katie Brochu recently mailed a congratulatory letter to Emerson telling him how proud the school system is of him.

“It is obvious you are a talented artist, but I also noticed your knowledge of steps to take in an emergency,” Brochu wrote. “You have used thoughtful ideas and expressed them in a creative manner.”

Emerson said he’s enjoyed drawing since he was 5 and is inspired by things he finds interesting. For example, he recently drew a picture with music notes and several kinds of instruments to represent the different genres of music he enjoys. He believes in using bright colors.

“It was kind of fun winning the contest, but all I did was just draw,” he said simply.

Emerson received a set of Disney DVDs along with emergency preparedness program supplies from the Home Depot. Payne said Emerson immediately began sharing the prize with his younger sister, Leslie, when he opened the package.

His parents, Milagro Cruz and Marcial Villatoro, are originally from El Salvador. Emerson said he has worked with both his parents on their English skills, and his father recently passed his United States citizenship test. Emerson has an older brother at Southeast High School, Charlie.

Suzy Bowen, a spokeswoman for the Ready Georgia contest, said some 950 students participated in all, including 600 who entered an essay contest. Art contest winners were judged on creativity, understanding of emergency preparedness and overall quality of their work.

“We were really pleased that a lot of students participated, and that does make Emerson’s win pretty special,” Bowen said.