Western Wayne High School has two student semi-finalists in a statewide Suicide Prevention contest run by Prevent Suicide PA.
Please vote for DonVito Borrelli, sophomore, who submitted Poster B and Sydney Hutchinson, senior, who submitted Audio File C.
The 2021 PSA contest page can be accessed at http://psa.preventsuicidepa.org/2021-2/. Click on the thumbs up under each entry to vote for that entry.
Both Western Wayne students take pride in their work and hope that it makes a difference for others.
DonVito’s poster reads “Your Life Matters. You are Not Alone. There is always hope.”
He has incorporated three cartoon-like figures on the poster. He explained that he tried to make the design pleasing to the eye. DonVito has enjoyed drawing in this style for several years.
“Cartoons inspired me to get involved in making art in the first place,” DonVito explained. “I watched a lot of cartoons as a kid, and I was always interested in how they were made. I drew a lot when I was little, and I just kept doing it and it developed into an active hobby.”
He explained the most challenging part about making this particular contest poster for the statewide Suicide Prevention contest run by Prevent Suicide PA.
“The most challenging part was probably the text on the bottom. I didn’t want to put something that was incredibly common, but I also didn’t want to put something that was more obscure, so I tried to find a good middle point. I hope people see that there are still people there for them. No matter how alone they feel, there is still someone there to help them, even if it seems like there isn’t.”
DonVito was happy to use this contest as a way to express himself through his artwork.
“I love creating art because I want to make people feel something. I specifically enjoy animation. I want to entertain people, and I want to leave a lasting impression on them with the things I make. I want to make people be able to go, ‘Hey, I enjoy this and I’m going remember this for years to come,’ ” he explained.
DonVito aspires to go to a community college and then do freelance animation and graphic design work or other art-related projects.
Fellow Western Wayne semifinalist Sydney Hutchinson also aspires to pursue a liberal arts related field after graduation. She plans to pursue communication journalism in college.
For her entry in the contest, she created a 30 second audio file about suicide prevention awareness. She explained that the most challenging part was making her submission fit the time requirement.
“It took many tries to get it right,” she explained. “I hope that people get from my audio file submission to know that they can always reach out for help if they need it. Someone is always there for you.”
When listening to her submission, pay attention to the sound affects she added for typing, emailing, etc. She really enjoyed creating this project, and it made her feel even more confident about her choice to pursue a career in possibly broadcast journalism. She has committed to Penn State Main Campus in the fall.
“I love to write especially when it is about something I enjoy,” Sydney explained. “I have learned a lot in my Western Wayne classes to help prepare me for my career especially about how to work with people and how to get along with them.”
Sydney is involved in many activities at Western Wayne which include: cross country where she serves as captain, indoor track, outdoor track, NHS, FBLA, yearbook, and student council.
The Western Wayne School District encourages the public to vote online for these two talented students in the Suicide Prevention Contest.
The public voting is open from now until Friday, February 26th. One vote per person, per contest, per day. Voting is open to anyone and can be shared widely. Contest winners will be announced in early March, and winners will be honored in the spring.
The 2021 PSA contest page can be accessed at http://psa.preventsuicidepa.org/2021-2/. Click on the thumbs up under each entry to vote for that entry.
Sydney hopes that after the public views her submission and the others on the website that they feel hopeful.
“I want people to know that they are not alone. There is always someone that is there even if you don’t think there is.”
Pictured is DonVito’s poster entry.
