SARASOTA, FLA., Feb. 23, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ringling College of Art and Design recently announced the winners of the third annual Ringling College Creative Awards Competition for 9th through 12th grade high school students in the United States. This year's competition was based around developing a concept for a theme park attraction or museum exhibition based on a movie, book, song or original idea. Universal Orlando Resort and Wacom were corporate partners in this year's competition.

The grand prize winners are 11th grader Alyson Del Pino and 12th grader Lisette Del Pino of the New World School of the Arts in Miami, FL, taught by Christian Losa; and 12th grader Sky Russell of Freedom High School in Tampa, taught by DJ Fintel. They will be taking an all-expense paid trip to Universal Studios in Orlando, FL. Alyson Del Pino also won the 'My Choice' Award and a $250.00 gift card.

The winner of the Ringling College Precollege Scholarship is 10th grader Meagan Killian from Tyler, Texas and Whitehouse High School, taught by Christine Killian. Winning the WACOM Contiq Companion 2 Tablet was 10th grader Heya Lee of Wexford, Pennsylvania and North Allegheny Intermediate High School, taught by Janet Serdy.

"The quality of the entries in the Ringling College Creative Awards continues to improve year over year," said Ringling College of Art and Design president Dr. Larry R. Thompson. "I am consistently amazed with the innate creativity exhibited by these evolving young men and women and look forward to following their educations and careers. Of particular import is the motivation provided by their teachers – such as Christian Losa, of New World School of the Arts in Miami, FL, who had four students win in the Creative Awards. Teachers like Christian provide the inspiration and guidance that makes a word of difference in maximizing their charges creative potential and futures."

Carlos Del Pino, father of Creative Awards winners Alyson and Lisette Del Pino, supported Dr. Thompson's statement, saying that his daughters' teacher Christian Losa "has an inexhaustible passion for helping young writers. He has encouraged my daughters to persevere and to find themselves in their writing. Throughout their year with him, my daughters have uncovered their passion for good storytelling and now they see themselves writing professionally in the future. The Creative Awards were the perfect place for them to explore and to push the boundaries of their writing."

The Ringling College Creative Awards is a national competition intended to help students in grades 9-12 meet the challenge of communicating through a variety of media in this new century. The contest was designed to be integrated into teachers' current curriculum for classroom assignments or submitted by individuals.

The following students were also awarded runner up prizes for their entries:

Malik Cale
Paige Marino
Ryan Haney
Mikaela Salcedo
Elaine Fu
Viveke Bejar
Danielle Boekankamp
Hannah Parrella
Baileigh Nordstrom
Courtney Brown
Allison Hester
Rivers Zhu
Mary Panetta
Samantha Majchrzak
Sabrina Diehl
Alexandra Schmit

To enter the Creative Awards, students submitted a creative entry comprised of an illustration or digital media entry (photo, video, digital drawing, etc.) supported by a 50 to 100 word written description; or a written entry (essay, poem, haiku, song lyrics or other form of writing) of up to 500 words.
Contestants were judged in each grade range, 9 through 12, for each of the two contest entry categories – creative and written. The Creative Awards are a skills-based contest and no purchase is necessary to enter. Contest rules, FAQ, student and teacher resources and information are available at www.ringlingcreativeawards.info.

The grand prize winners received an all-expense paid trip to Universal Orlando® Resort. Other prizes included a Ringling College PreCollege Student Scholarship, a Wacom Cintiq Companion 2 Tablet, $100 Gift Cards and a $250 gift card for the My Choice Award. Teachers of the grand prize winners will receive a scholarship and travel to Ringling College's Summer Teacher Institute.

The PreCollege program at Ringling College of Art and Design offers talented high school students a chance to live the art and design school experience and take on the rigors of a college-level visual arts curriculum. Students from around the world come together to study art and design in a four-week intensive, residential program while earning college credit. They live together, learn together, and experience a summer of discovery, growth and exploration.

About Ringling College of Art and Design

For nearly 85 years, Ringling College of Art and Design has cultivated the creative spirit in students from around the globe. The private, not-for-profit fully accredited college offers the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in eleven disciplines and the Bachelor of Arts in two. The College's rigorous curriculum employs the studio model of teaching and immediately engages students through a comprehensive, first-year program that is both specific to the major of study and focused on the liberal arts. The Ringling College teaching model ultimately shapes students into highly employable and globally aware artists and designers. For more information please visit the Ringling College website at www.ringling.edu, follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter or call 941.351.5100.

Photo depicts Creative Awards Winners from Miami's New World School of the Arts and their teacher, Christian Losa. Left to Right - Sabrina Diehl, Lisette Del Pino, Teacher Chris Losa, Ryan Haney and Alyson Del Pino. Photo by New World student Bleu Cremers.

A photo accompanying this release is available at:
http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=39068