St. Mary’s Dominican High School senior Evan Bellow was awarded a Bronze Medal in painting by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) yearlong enrichment and achievement program called ACT-SO (Afro-American Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics). She is an Art III Advanced Placement: Studio Art, Drawing student. Her winning painting was entitled, “Growing Pains”. St. Mary’s Dominican High School Art teacher is Angelle Caffery.

The primary youth initiative of the NAACP, the program is designed to recruit, stimulate, and encourage high academic and cultural achievement among African-American high school students. It was founded in 1978 by author and journalist Vernon Jarrett. Nearly 300,000 young people have participated in the program since its inception.