I’ve always been passionate about the arts and believe that they are an important part of every child’s education, so I was extremely excited to attend the first Annual Artspiration Auction and Scholarship Awards sponsored by the Santa Ana Public Schools Foundation and held at the beautiful Bowers Museum. This was a wonderful opportunity for our budding student artists to showcase and celebrate their art with the Santa Ana Community. I was the lucky winner of three impressive pieces of artwork submitted by Johnson Nguyen and Alex Rodriguez, both of Saddleback High School and a group painting from students of a Lathrop Intermediate art class.

I was so proud of the artwork of all our intermediate and high school students who participated. Whether they want to pursue art as a career or hobby, it is important for us to provide opportunities where they can explore, discover, and share their talents with others. Thanks to the vision of the Santa Ana Public Schools Foundation, our students were fortunate to have this opportunity at an amazing venue. Thank you to the Bowers Museum for graciously opening their doors and hosting this event. Thank you to the Mind Research Institute for being a major donor, and thank you to all of the SAUSD staff members who unselfishly volunteered their time to support our students.

Throughout the evening, there was representation of SAUSD students in various capacities. Upon entering the museum, guests were greeted by the Saddleback High School NJROTC Cadets and entertained with musical flute selections by Lathrop students.  As guests walked through the aisles admiring and purchasing art work, students from the Red Tie Club at Villa Fundamental Intermediate School assisted buyers with their selections while our culinary arts students from Valley High School served delectable appetizers.  

After the close of the auction, the evening concluded with the presentation of scholarship awards to well-deserving students and musical selections by the Valley High School Chamber Singers. Thank you to everyone who contributed to making Artspiration a huge success, especially the Santa Ana Public Schools Foundation Board who worked so tirelessly to make this event a wonderful celebration of our students and the arts.