‘She’s An Artist’: Seaford Senior Earns Art Supervisors Scholarship

SEAFORD, NY — Seaford High School senior Emma Edzards has always had a passion for art. She’s in the school’s advanced placement art program, working on a themed art portfolio, and has just about completed Seaford’s arts course catalog. With a transcript that includes Introduction to Art, Photography 1, Photography 2, Digital Art, Drawing and Painting, Drawing and Painting Honors, AP Art and Comic and Cartoon Illustration, Edzards hasn’t left much unaccomplished in her time at Seaford.

This spring, however, she was able to mark an important milestone, turning her work into scholarship funding from the Art Supervisors Association.

Edzards was one of two dozen Seaford students whose work was displayed in Nassau’s All-County art show this year, a show that came with a $200 scholarship for one senior from each district. Her scholarship-winning piece, Seaford School District representatives said, was a painting of recording artist Taylor Swift with a “glitch” effect.

“I’ve always liked art since I was young,” Edzards said. “I love the creative aspect of it.”

Edzards was awarded her scholarship during the all-county exhibit’s opening ceremony, taking place at W.T. Clarke high. For AP art teacher Curtis Tripoli, the scholarship is a recognition of years of hard work that he’s seen Edzards put in across multiple classes.

“Her commitment to her artwork is unwavering,” Tripoli said. “She’s always locked in.”

For Michael Kerr, who advises the National Art Honor Society at Seaford, an organization that Edzards is a member of, the award is emblematic of the kind of person who made the art in the first place.

“She’s an artist,” added Michael Kerr, the National Art Honor Society adviser. “It’s her personality and her passion.”