Mississippi School of the Arts students’ success in ThirdDistrict U.S. Rep. Chip Pickering’s recent art competition providesfurther evidence of the quality of work being produced by studentsat the Brookhaven school.

MSA students claimed four first place awards among sevencompetition categories.

First place awards went to Mollie Row, of Meridian, in Collage;Deunte Ford, of Mendenhall, in Painting; Nathaniel Lias, of SilverCreek, in Computer Generated Art; and Brittany Horne, of Macon, inMixed Media. Also, Alexander Province, of Collinsville, captured asecond place honor in Photography and Joel Wasser, of Brandon, wasan honorable mention in Drawing.

The students certainly have reason to be proud of theiraccomplishments. Art students are not the only ones who can layclaim to accolades, as choral and theater students have alsoexcelled in regional and even some national competitions.

Mississippi in general and Brookhaven in particular can be proudof the artistic excellence being put forth by the students. At MSA,their talents are being nurtured by a strong faculty and throughassociation with fellow artisans from across the state.

Keep up the good work.