Elena Chudoba looked down at her phone every few minutes. The results should post at six. It was 5:50. No one else had heard anything, but her interviews had gone well, she received nothing but compliments. Finally at 9:30, nine hours after her interviews, she got the text from Mr. Mason. “Pack your bags! You’re going to state…”

On February 20 art students competed in V.A.S.E (Visual Arts Scholastic Event) held at Timberview. All of David Mason’s students medaled at the regional level and nineteen advanced to the state competition held at the University of Houston- Clear Lake on April 6.

“After impatiently awaiting the results of the contest, I felt really accomplished when Mr. Mason texted me,” sophomore Chudoba said.  “I was like ‘booyah.’”

From photography to ceramics, the art teachers chose pieces from each class level which determined the division the piece would be judged in.

I was proud of everybody and the efforts they put forth,” Mr. Mason said. “I went in with no pre-conceived notion of how everyone would do, and I was very pleasantly surprised with the results.”

During the competition all of the participants have an individual judge who scores them on a scale of four and eight based on the interview. The scores add up to a maximum of sixty, which determines the regional finalists.

“It was fun, I always like doing the interviews,” junior Samantha Server said. “It wasn’t as stressful as the first year because I knew what to expect. I was able to strike up a conversation with each of the interviewers, which helps.”

Although Mr. Mason obtained everyone’s phone number after their interviews, senior Jenny Li did not receive a text message about state. She knew, from a friend, her piece was in the room with the other state contenders, but she didn’t officially find out until class on Monday.

“I was freaking out,” Li said. “I was just extra happy and so stoked.”

With nineteen students and twenty three pieces advancing to state, Legacy’s art department has the most contenders in all of MISD.

“This is our super bowl,” Mr. Mason said, “and every year we get better.”