Pahrump student wins Silver State Schools Calendar Contest

Pahrump Valley High School student Hokulani Keanaaina Hutchinson has a gift and it’s one she dedicates both time and energy, as well as plenty of passion, to cultivating. With the inspiration of her own creativity and the tools of the trade, Hutchinson demonstrates her talents as an artist on a regular basis, bringing blank canvasses to life with her artistic ability, and recently, her skills were recognized by Silver State Schools Credit Union during the company’s annual Happy Times Calendar Contest.

It’s a longstanding tradition for Silver State Schools Credit Union, which has been compiling the artwork of Nevada’s kindergarten through 12th grade students into its Happy Times Calendar for more than three decades. For the 2020 contest, Hutchinson’s artwork featured a depiction of herself and several of her friends posing for selfies at a festival and the entry was so well done that it earned its way into the upcoming 2021 calendar, in which it will grace the month of May.

“I call my picture F is for Friends, Fun and Festivals!” Hutchinson said of the masterpiece she created with colored pencil. “And I enjoyed creating a picture of my friends and I having fun at a festival.”

Officials within the Nye County School District were obviously delighted at the win, with an announcement posted by the school district detailing, “12th grade student, Hokulani Keanaaina Hutchinson, is president of PVHS’ Virtual Art Club, taking Art IV in the spring, and is the Silver State Schools calendar contest winner for May! She also gets $100 and $100 for the art program. This is an incredible honor. Congratulations, Hokulani and Mrs. Dabrowski!”

Crystal Dabrowski is an art teacher at Pahrump Valley High School and has been teaching Hutchinson for several years. She said she couldn’t be more proud of Hutchinson’s accomplishments, which include not just the Silver State Schools calendar contest but a variety of other notable achievements as well.

“Hokulani has been an art student of mine for the last four years, during which time she has won many art contests because of her hard work and talent,” Dabrowski told the Pahrump Valley Times. “The International Film Festival Poster Contest and placing third in the Rotary Club’s World Peace Contest were two of her greatest accomplishments before winning this. It has been my pleasure to watch Hokulani grow as a talented young artist during the four years I have taught her.”

Officials with Silver State Schools Credit Union said the calendars are currently being printed and a release date is tentatively set for early December. Readers can check for the announcement of the release date on the company’s social media platforms.

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com