Liberty Students Earn Top Prizes in Art Contest

Two eighth-grade students at Liberty Middle School received top prizes in a recent drug-awareness contest presented by the Essex County Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Team (ADAPT). 

The theme of the contest was “What Keeps You Drug and Alcohol Free?” and was geared toward students from grades 6 through 12.

Lorenzo Jiles was awarded the top prize for his art work “Hanging Out With My Friends Keeps Me Drug Free” and Anusha Sivendra captured third place for her poster “Live Above the Influence.” The submissions by Jiles and Sivendra were among over 100 entries from throughout Essex County.  Jiles was given an iPod Nano and $100 gift certificate and Sivendra was awarded a $50 gift certificate.  

According to Jiles’ father, Adell Jiles, drawing was a way to keep Lorenzo focused at church or in other activities, and it seemed to be a perfect fit.  The 14-year-old Lorenzo continued to hone his talent and hopes to pursue a career as a comic book illustrator in the future.

"I am really excited about this award,” said Jiles, who was drawing superheroes as young as age 5. “I already know what the effects of drugs and alcoholic do, so I restrain myself from that type of thing.”

Sivendra, 13, used sports and video games as the inspiration for her artwork.  She said she wanted to find things that children enjoy and built her poster’s message around that concept.  For example, Sivendra used a bowling pin to represent the letter “I” and basketball as the “O” to convey her message.

“I’m honored to represent the ADAPT program through my art work and help others promote a healthy lifestyle,” said Sivendra, who would like to eventually become a lawyer. “I enjoy drawing because it’s fun to let out my expressions and creativity.”

The posters will be placed on various New Jersey Transit buses to remind young people of the dangers of drugs and alcohol.

“It’s great to see two outstanding members of the Liberty community recognized for their efforts, especially in an area as critical as drug awareness,” Liberty principal Robert Klemt said.

According to Carla Helb, a Substance Abuse Counselor at the school, the ADAPT program is a coalition of people who are focused on reducing underage drinking and drug abuse in Essex County.   The program tries to promote being drug-free by promoting their message through napkins in cafeterias, signs at liquor stores, and other initiatives that young people might see.  Members of ADAPT meet on a monthly basis at Family Connections in Orange and discuss new ways to disseminate the message to the community.

For more information about ADAPT, please go to http://www.essexadapt.org/.