{"id":303750,"date":"2026-05-07T04:13:41","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T04:13:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/303750\/"},"modified":"2026-05-07T04:13:41","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T04:13:41","slug":"student-art-focuses-on-financial-empowerment-see-contest-winners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/303750\/","title":{"rendered":"Student Art Focuses on Financial Empowerment – See Contest Winners"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Student Art Focuses on Financial Empowerment \u2013 See Contest Winners<\/p>\n

(Oakland County Treasurer\u2019s Office, May 6, 2026)<\/p>\n

Pontiac, MI \u2013 \u2014Oakland County Treasurer Robert Wittenberg\u2014in partnership with Oakland Schools, Flagstar Bank and the Oakland Livingston Human Service Agency\u2014announces the 2026 Financial Empowerment Arts Contest. The winners and honorable mentions were recognized during a private awards reception at Flagstar Bank Headquarters in Troy, Mich.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s contest marked the 15th annual program and welcomed 153 submissions from 18 public high schools across Oakland County\u2014the second-highest participation in the contest\u2019s history. Student artists were invited to submit original work that reflected the theme of financial empowerment through drawing, painting, photography, mixed media, video and illustration.<\/p>\n

\u201cCongratulations to this year\u2019s winners and to every student who submitted their work for the 15th annual contest. Each entry reflects a unique perspective on financial decision-making and the importance of financial empowerment,\u201d said Oakland Treasurer Robert Wittenberg. \u201cWe appreciate our partners at Flagstar Bank, Oakland Schools and OLHSA for their continued collaboration and commitment to this program. We are also grateful to the teachers and advisors who encouraged and supported their students throughout the process.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe year\u2019s contest submissions showcased the diversity of perspectives on budgeting, saving, investing, and planning for the future. The students\u2019 artwork is truly inspiring and we\u2019re proud to celebrate the incredible creativity of Oakland County\u2019s high school students,\u201d said Lisa Brownfield, Relationship Manager, Government Banking at Flagstar. \u201cFlagstar believes in supporting programs that empower young people to think boldly about their financial futures. We extend our congratulations to all the winners\u2014we can\u2019t wait to see where your talent takes you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cOakland Schools is proud to support a program that gives students a meaningful platform to connect creativity with real-world financial learning,\u201d said Oakland Schools Superintendent Kenneth Gutman. \u201cThe artwork submitted this year reflects the talent, insight, and perspective of Oakland County students, while reinforcing the importance of financial decision-making, independence, and long-term planning. We congratulate all of the winners and thank Treasurer Wittenberg, Flagstar Bank, and OLHSA for investing in opportunities that help students build skills for their future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Winning entries were selected based on creativity, artistic execution and how effectively each piece communicated key financial concepts such as budgeting, saving, investing and planning for the future.<\/p>\n

The winners and honorable mentions will receive cash prizes from a $10,000 contest fund provided by Flagstar Bank. The winning artwork will be displayed for one year in the Oakland County Treasurer\u2019s Office and featured online with all student entries.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The cash prizes are $1,000 (first place), $750 (second place), $500 (third place) and $100 (honorable mention), and the 2026 winners are:<\/p>\n

12th Grade<\/p>\n

First Place \u2013 Olivia Beltran, Rochester High School<\/a><\/p>\n

Second Place \u2013 Tyler Toth, Lake Orion High School
Third Place \u2013 Annie Zhao, International Academy<\/p>\n

Honorable Mention \u2013 Gabriel Barkas, Novi High School
Honorable Mention \u2013 Amelia Meier, Rochester High School
Honorable Mention \u2013 Sayani Palomet, Rochester High School<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

11th Grade
First Place \u2013 Avery Feldman, Rochester High School<\/a>
Second Place \u2013 Vivianne Muehlheim, OSTC-NW<\/p>\n

Third Place \u2013 Daphne Smid, Lake Orion High School<\/p>\n

Honorable Mention \u2013 Daniel Dimitry, Rochester High School
Honorable Mention \u2013 Avery Nieset, OSTC-SW<\/p>\n

Honorable Mention \u2013 Eunchae Shin, Rochester High School
\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

10th Grade
First Place \u2013 Ava Wagner, Waterford Mott High School<\/a><\/p>\n

Second Place \u2013 Ishan Irfan, Troy Athens High School
Third Place \u2013 Ellie Rupert, Rochester High School
Honorable Mention \u2013 Reese Mowrey, Lake Orion High School<\/p>\n

Honorable Mention \u2013 Isabella Sorenson, Lake Orion High School<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

9th Grade
First Place \u2013 Rishika Pradhap, International Academy<\/a>
Second Place \u2013 Nina Howitt, Lake Orion High School
Third Place \u2013 Savannah Tedder, Troy Athens High School
Honorable Mention \u2013 Evy Bednar, Rochester High School<\/p>\n

Honorable Mention \u2013 Taein Kang, Rochester Adams High School<\/p>\n

For more information about the contest and to view this year\u2019s submissions, visit the Oakland County Treasurer\u2019s website at oakgov.com\/arts<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Pictured: Rishika Pradhap, International Academy<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"image_pdf\"Save this post to PDF<\/a>\"image_print\"Print this post<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Student Art Focuses on Financial Empowerment \u2013 See Contest Winners (Oakland County Treasurer\u2019s Office, May 6, 2026) Pontiac,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":303751,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[143,145,144],"class_list":["post-303750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=303750"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303750\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/303751"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=303750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=303750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=303750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}