Katherine Dian Westbrook, of Wesson, recently won an innovative pitch contest and was welcomed into an honors society at the University of Iowa.

Westbrook, a 2019 Literary Arts graduate of Mississippi School of the Arts, is a communication sciences and disorders student at UI. She plans to teach creative writing to deaf and hearing impaired students.

She is the daughter of Sara and Chase Westbrook.

In the university’s IdeaStorm entry-level pitch competition, students are encouraged to share innovative ideas with others while familiarizing themselves with the pitch process. Students submitted short videos describing a problem and how they plan to solve it. A panel of judges reviewed the submissions and chose winners in various categories. Cash prizes were awarded and the top ideas were eligible for a People’s Choice award.

Westbrook submitted in the Creative Concepts category, focusing on sharing new ideas within the world of art. Ideas could focus on a variety of creative media such as fine arts, fashion, music, history and literature. The Wesson native took third place with a $350 prize for her pitch on programmable wallpaper. Her pitch was also chosen as the People’s Choice award for the category.

Her pitch can be viewed at www.iowajpec.org/events-competitions/ideastorm-winners.

Westbrook was also recently recognized as a member of Sigma Alpha Lambda National Leadership and Honors Organization.