Knoch student in final 3 for pin design contest
A pin designed by a Butler County Area Vocational-Technical School student aims to represent as many people in Pennsylvania as possible.
Art submitted for the SkillsUSA conference in June incorporates images representing Erie, Pittsburgh, Scranton and Philadelphia.
Oleena Antkowiak is a third-year graphic design student at the school, and submitted her “comic book” design to SkillsUSA, a national workforce development organization for students. The design depicts the Flagship Niagara ship, representing Erie; a can of soup, representing Pittsburgh; illuminated light bulbs for Scranton; and the Liberty Bell for Philadelphia.
Oleena’s design is among three finalists in the competition, which are being voted on via Facebook and Instagram “likes.”
“The ship is based off a ship in Erie, from the War of 1812; the electric city sign is from Scranton, Pa. They were the first city with electricity fully,” Antkowiak said. “The soup can is from Pittsburgh … because Andy Warhol designed the can of soup; and then there’s the Liberty Bell.”
According to Lee Ann Clutter, graphic design instructor at the vocational-technical school, 49 schools in Pennsylvania submitted designs for the SkillsUSA pin design competition, and Oleena’s made the top three. Oleena’s design was originally for a T-shirt, but Clutter said she recommended she submit it in the pin design competition.
Oleena, who attends Knoch High School, said if her pin design gets the most votes on social media, it will be made into actual pins, which she can trade with people from other states at the national SkillsUSA conference in Atlanta, Ga.
“I’m trying to connect all four corners of the state so everyone who wears it can feel included and not feel left out,” she said. “It’s a trading pin for states, so everybody from different states can trade at nationals in Georgia.”
People can vote on SkillsUSA Pennsylvania’s Facebook and Instagram pages until Monday, Feb. 3.
