About 100 Greenhill students across different divisions recently participated in a bookmark design contest hosted by Montgomery Library staff to honor the school’s 75th anniversary. Librarian Denise Brewer created the contest as a way to allow students to combine artistic creativity and their love for the library to celebrate Greenhill.

“A bookmark contest felt like a natural fit for the library, allowing students to contribute a lasting keepsake that reflects this special year,” Brewer said in an email.

In the contest, a panel of the contest judges sought to highlight the most creative designs, selecting the top 3 finalists of each school division.

“Winners were determined through a weighted scoring process based on those rankings,” Brewer said.

Members of the judging panel included community members Ron Ivery, Tom Perryman, Stephanie Campbell, Thomas Martinez, Mary Aidala, Libby DiCenso, Susan Bauman and Autumn Bernhard.

The Upper School finalists were freshmen Anabelle Olvera and Bailey Scribner and sophomore Lila Uster.

Olvera’s design was selected as the Upper School winner. Olvera said she originally joined the contest as part of her Painting 1 class. According to Olvera, she described herself as being surprised but joyful when she learned about her accomplishment from Upper School Library Abby Harrison.

Olvera’s design featured a monochromatic peacock, a bird associated with Greenhill because of the flock that roams and lives on the campus.

“There is this one peacock where one of its feathers is just pure white”, Olvera said.

She incorporated that distinctive feature into her design to highlight the uniqueness of the “albino” peacock and symbolize the important milestone in Greenhill’s history.

The Middle School finalists were seventh-grader Claire Zhang, seventh-grader Elle Davis and sixth-grader Samuel Fenton.

Zhang’s winning design featured a book that had pages of drawings of the Hornet mascot and the 75th anniversary symbol along with words of Greenhill’s core values of courage, integrity, excellence, and compassion.

Zhang has previously participated in the Dallas Area Rapid Transit art contests, earning an honorable mention award for one of her designs. Using this experience, Zhang borrowed the book component from her previous work.

“Everything I drew had something to do with Greenhill,” Zhang said.

She incorporated peacock feathers to honor the bird she described as “kind of like our second mascot other than a hornet”.

One of the oldest buildings on campus, the Montgomery Library, is known as a place that hosts many gatherings in the community and encourages curiosity and collaboration. According to Brewer, the library is a special place where students and faculty honor Greenhill’s past while continuing to support its future.

Brewer, who is in her second year at the Montgomery Library, said the bookmark contest held a special meaning for her personally.

“I felt like it kind of made me feel more a part of the community,” Brewer said.

Due to the attention from students and faculty, Brewer said “we may do it again, but I do not think it will not be a yearly thing as it was quite a bit of work”.