The contest received over 2,100 submissions from students nationwide and the works, including Uhas’ “Ben’s Chili Bowl” and Nugent’s “Shadows of the Past,” will be on display throughout February inside the Drexel University URBN Center.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Both students were taking a photography class last semester when media arts teacher Karin Stack encouraged the class to submit photos.\u00a0<\/p>\n “I thought they were great choices, really well justified, beautiful work, structurally sound and thoughtful,” said Stack of her students’ selected photos. And [there was] a high level of consideration of color, light, shadow, all that good stuff.”<\/p>\n Natasha Nugent was one of two Mount Greylock Regional High School seniors selected to exhibit their work in the 2025\u00a0Drexel University High School Photography Contest. Her selected photo, “Shadows of the Past,” was taken in the woods near her high school during a school photography course.<\/p>\n AMELIA MADRIGAL<\/p>\n Nugent’s interest in photography piqued during the pandemic, specifically for photographing birds. She took the photography class at school to learn more generally about the craft.<\/p>\n “It’s been great to be able to take the class in school this year, to learn more about the cameras and how they work, and it sort of expands my horizons with photography,” said Nugent, who will attend Swarthmore College just outside Philadelphia next year. “Ms. Stack has been really great at helping me with all of that.”<\/p>\n “Shadows of the Past” by Natasha Nugent, a Mount Greylock Regional High School senior, was selected for the 2025 Drexel University High School Photography Contest out of over 2,100 submissions nationwide.<\/p>\n NATASHA NUGENT<\/p>\n Her selected photo, “Shadows of the Past” was taken during photography class on a fall day behind school. Wandering around the nearby woods, Nugent was captivated by the light.<\/p>\n “I was really struck by all sorts of shadows on the trees, and this one in particular, of a fern with its shadow projected onto the tree trunk, really stood out to me,” she said. “I took a lot of pictures of this one fern in shadow, before deciding that this was the best of them.”<\/p>\n Nugent said she is already excited for the digital photography and film photography courses she’s enrolled in at Swarthmore in the fall.<\/p>\n Jack Uhas was one of two Mount Greylock Regional High School seniors selected to exhibit their work in the 2025\u00a0Drexel University High School Photography Contest. The selected works will be on display at the Philadelphia college in February.<\/p>\n JACK UHAS<\/p>\n Uhas taught himself photography years before taking Stack’s class, even starting the Instagram account @jackuphoto. He submitted multiple photos to the contest, including the selected one that he took while he was a junior studying\u00a0in Washington, D.C., at the School for Ethics and Global Leadership.\u00a0<\/p>\n While there, he got to spend time with and present some of his work to working photojournalists, including his work with D.C. landmark Ben’s Chili Bowl.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Ben’s Chili Bowl” by Jack Uhas, a Mount Greylock Regional High School senior, was selected as a “Judges Favorite” for the 2025 Drexel University High School Photography Contest.<\/p>\n JACK UHAS<\/p>\n “It was one of the photos they had pointed out that they thought was the most moving or most compelling,” said Uhas, who hasn’t decided where he will end up but plans to major in political science. “From there, I kind of kept it in my back pocket and my teacher told me about this opportunity about a month ago.”<\/p>\n The diner, famous for its chili dogs, was founded in 1958 and during that time, was known to serve artists like Duke Ellington, Nat King Cole and Miles Davis when they performed at nearby clubs on U Street.<\/p>\n Uhas’ photo was awarded the “Judges’ Favorite” distinction.<\/p>\n Regardless of a student’s chosen path, Stack emphasized how arts education strengthens general educational learning. She pointed to the Partnership for 21st Century Skill’s four Cs<\/a> of skills that students should possess to be successful in a digital age: collaboration, communication, critical thinking and creativity.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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