After receiving over 900 entries nationwide, The Art Institute Online, a division of The Art Institute of Pittsburgh, announced two winners in its “Live Your Creative Passion” scholarship competition.

The Current Student Scholarship Recipient is Orsolya Windhoffer, of Rockville, Maryland, a student in the Interactive Media Design online program. Windhoffer said receiving the $10,000 scholarship will help her continue to pursue her bachelor’s degree.

The competition kicked off April 18, 2007, and was designed to encourage individuals to become excited about reaching their full creative potential through art. During the first round of judging, the public at large had an opportunity to vote online for their favorite entries. More than 50,000 people visited the scholarship Web site and voted for their favorite entries. The entries that received the top 10% of votes from the public were reviewed by a panel of distinguished judges who selected the two scholarship recipients.

Read Orsolya’s winning essay :

The first warm Sunday of this year seemed like a great day to go fishing. A gentle breeze and abundant sunshine were playfully rejoicing the arrival of spring. I was happy. My smile only turned to frown when I reached my destination, the Potomac River. Instead of the lovely river I had hoped for, I found murky waters, garbage, filth, debris, degradation. I felt crestfallen. In an instance my desire to be fishing dissipated. Outrage stirred in me, fervor overflowed. This simple, innocent trip made me want to act to change what I saw. I began to wonder how I could help. I could certainly help by taking some of the trash lying around to the nearest garbage can. But as a graphic designer, I could also open eyes, spread the word of the condition of our river, and may stop people from further destroying our river. My creative passion lives in my ability to communicate, share ideas, educate, and incite action through my work. My art is my voice, and I want to make it heard. Through education and experience, I strive to reach my maximum potential. The Interactive Media Design program at the Art Institute will help me perfect my craft, and expand my skills to a new medium, so that I can use my voice to effectively communicate my views to the world. I consider continuing to learn as essential to my existence. The image I created of the Potomac was intended to portray the beauty living beneath the pollution. If even just one person refrains from littering after viewing my portrait of the river, I feel my work has not been created in vain. Violence, abuse, global warming, recycling, and energy conservation are just a few other issues which may be addressed similarly. Whether it is an emotional, global, corporate or personal idea that I work on, I manifest my power through my creativity. The challenge of delivering information to a targeted audience through simple, yet aesthetic visuals is something I have always felt a great passion for. I will continually strive to better myself, so that my work may aid society in creating a safer, healthier future for generations to come. Perhaps my artwork will make others see the beauty, instead of the squalor.