Great Hearts Anthem Senior Wins Holiday Card Contest

Great Hearts Anthem was thrilled by the news that senior Ayla Noller’s beautiful watercolor painting was selected for the cover of the Official 2024 Great Hearts Holiday Card. This marks the second consecutive year that a Great Hearts Anthem student has received this honor. Last year we brought you the story of Lydia Luehrs and her winning artwork.

In a tear-jerking reveal, Noller was surprised by Headmaster Zack Withers with the news that her artwork had won out of over 115 submissions. This was an even greater surprise to her, since she didn’t even know the piece had been entered.

Her teacher, Johanna Chumley, had secretly submitted the painting, confident that it was a winning piece. “I received the email that there was a competition for a winter scene for a card,” explained Chumley. “And I knew exactly who I was going to submit… I didn’t tell her. Just took the liberty. I knew that her work was great and went ahead and put it together and submitted the form and then was so excited and surprised to find out when my Headmaster told me that Ayla had won. It was a great day and nice culmination to all the work that she had put in junior year and now.”

Her painting, originally a class assignment during her junior year, captures a serene forest blanketed in snow. “It was a watercolor, and we were allowed to, I believe, make any form of scenery,” she recalled. “I decided that I wanted to do a forest scene, and in doing such, I wanted to challenge myself by doing snow, because how do you paint snow when it’s white on a white canvas, and I thought it would be a really cool challenge.”

Noller’s humility and gratitude shone through as she reflected on this accomplishment as she was visibly shaking with tears in her eyes upon receiving the news. “I’m excited, shocked, grateful, and very happy,” she said. “I’ve always enjoyed artistic and creative pursuits and will continue to do art in my free time.”

Noller credits the curriculum at Great Hearts for her artistic exploration while in high school. “The fact that we have all of these classes that are not just for learning but for immersing yourself in the Arts,” she shared, “allows you to understand where your strong suits are and exploring just what you enjoy builds a person.”

Withers praised both Noller and the school’s art program, saying, “It is just really incredible, and that’s a testament to the work that our students are doing each day, but also our wonderful teachers. We’re just really excited. It’s an honor to recognize our students and we’re just excited to honor her in this way.”

Chumley agreed, noting how this achievement reflects Ayla’s exceptional talent and the supportive environment at Great Hearts. “She is humble. She’s not proud, although she has every right to be about her work. She’s very skilled, so I just hope that this experience encourages her and helps her know how valuable she is and how important she is to us here as a community and that she’s very talented,”

Congratulations to Ayla Noller on this well-deserved recognition and thank you for bringing the Beauty of your art to the Great Hearts community and beyond.

Do you have a story or know of a story that you would like to see featured at Great Hearts?  Please contact jason.moore@greathearts.org