EDMOND—Painters, photographers, writers, designers and other creators received recognition for their aptitudes and efforts in the 2014 Philadelphia Church of God Teen Talent Contest on July 28, during Philadelphia Youth Camp awards night. Hundreds of campers, staff members, parents and visitors filled the John Amos Field House as camp director Wayne Turgeon announced the names of the winners in each category.

Photography :: Category 1 (13-15 years old)

FIRST PLACE: “Skyward,” by Julia GoddardSECOND PLACE: “Sailing,” by Julia GoddardTHIRD PLACE: “Aftermath,” by Julia Goddard

Photography :: Category 1 (16-19 years old)

FIRST PLACE: “On the Prowl,” by Jessica BrandonSECOND PLACE: “Morning March,” by Kassandra VerboutTHIRD PLACE: “Palm Springs Mercedes,” by Gianni WelshHONORABLE MENTION: “Microscopic View,” by Jessica Brandon

Art :: Category 1 (13-15 years old)

FIRST PLACE: “Cosette,” by Julia GoddardSECOND PLACE : “Dichotomy,” by Julia GoddardTHIRD PLACE: “The Duel,” by Julia Goddard

Art :: Category 1 (16-19 years old)

FIRST PLACE: “Ballerina Dreams,” by Jessica Brandon

3D Digital Art/Web Design :: Category 2 (16-19 years old)

FIRST PLACE: “Cloth in a Glass,” by Evan FraserSECOND PLACE: “Shot Logo,” by Evan FraserTHIRD PLACE: ”MOA Redo,” by Evan FraserHONORABLE MENTION: ”Hawp Media,” by Evan Fraser

3D Animation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gc53fN8uYyY

First Place: “TT Maxon Space” by Gavin Fraser

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7pkn-k-K3o

Second Place: “Synergy” by Gavin Fraser

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3yoxd0YjgE

Third Place: “The PYC Splash” by Griffin Sander

Video Editing

First Place: “The Incredible Self-Making Sandwhich” by Jesse Zoellner

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2eaz0I211Y

Second Place: “Andy Irons” by Gavin Fraser

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LySSDmdnG7Q

Third Place: “Window Panes” by Gavin Fraser

Writing :: Category 1 (13-15 years old)

FIRST PLACE: “The Secret Chime” by Ansley Welsh

There was once a secret wind chime

So beautiful, so whimsical.

This secret chime was said to hold the key to far off lands,

Ever so softly whispering the twinkling tales of hidden kings.

A calm zephyr would carry its voice to those with attentive ear,

That would listen to its twinkling tales and fearless adventures

Through the wind.

SECOND PLACE: “The Race” by Brandon Szabo

At the line,Waiting hours for the gun,A sharp crack and it begins,Surging forward,Heart pounding,Breathing in ragged gasps,One foot in front of the other,Step by step,Gaining ground,Arms pumping back and forth,Sweat pouring down your face,Lungs straining,Never ending,A breakneck pace that continues,Legs pumping like pistons,Deathly quiet,One goal,Yearning for the finish line,No stopping, no resting,Nerves racing,Almost there,Around the last bend,The final stretch to victory,Never giving up,Pushing forward,Legs shaking with fatigue,Running through molasses,Into the warm embrace of success.

THIRD PLACE: “Creation” by Eleisha Saranga

I stare up at the starsAnd watch them all shoot by.I hear the crickets chirpingAnd wonder how and why.

The beauty of the skiesAnd here on earth below.I couldn’t ever do this.No man could ever know.

The sunset’s dazzling fireAnd sunrise’s noiseless peaceLets us know there was a thoughtFor ev’ry man and beast.

God created this planSo we could help him ruleTo decorate the heavensWe are his master tool.

Writing :: Category 2 (16-19 years old)

FIRST PLACE: “My Large-Sized Lesson” by Brianna Weeks

A warm burst of air greeted me as I swung open the first door to enter the McDonald’s building. Another blast soon followed as I opened the second door and stepped into the main lobby. Carried on that blast was the scent of all things fried: fried hamburgers, fried chicken, and, of course, fried fries. Taking a deep breath to calm my nerves (and getting a huge lung-full of the salty air as I did it), I walked nervously up to the counter and spoke to a boy in a neat black McDonald’s uniform.

“Where can I get an application for working here?”

The boy paused for a moment, as if contemplating the absurdity of my question, and then answered that there were no paper applications; I would have to go to the website and apply online. After his explanation ended, I thanked him, turned around, and quickly exited the building, leaving behind the smells that I had hoped to get familiar with.

As I walked out of the building and into a rainy night, I felt the weight of disappointment settle onto my shoulders. All my previous experiences with applying for jobs online had been of no avail; I hadn’t heard back from any of the companies I had sent in applications for. I’ll never get a job, I couldn’t help but thinking as I slid into the front passenger seat of my family’s Prius. No one ever pays attention to online applications. My dad looked at me expectantly as he pulled the car forward and out of the McDonald’s parking lot.

“I have to apply online,” I explained to him.

Whether or not I actually would was another matter altogether.

As I sat in the car and replayed the events of my short and unsuccessful encounter with the Golden Arches, I turned my head to the window and watched little rain droplets trickle down the outside of it, blowing sideways with the wind of the accelerating car, all the while thinking: What’s the point in even trying to apply online, especially if I don’t know if anyone will ever actually look at my application? Throughout the car ride home, my mind continually toyed with the idea of giving up.

But slowly, as I got home and went inside, I began to realize that applying for a job online would do nothing for me but give me an extra chance to actually get a job. Even if I never heard back from McDonald’s, it would be better to put forth the effort than sit back and lapse into inactivity. However unlikely a chance it was that someone would read my application on the other side of the internet, there was a chance, and to not take advantage of it was foolish. I realized that if I was ever going to be able to break out of my disappointing, jobless rut, I was going to have to show some initiative and persevere through the multiple job denials.

With these thoughts in mind, I immediately grabbed my laptop, resolving myself to sit down and fill out the McDonald’s application that night. The website the boy had given me was accurate and I found, filled out, and submitted the straightforward application without difficulty. Later, as I went to bed, I prayed about my application. After that, I didn’t worry about it. I had persevered through the disappointing thoughts, done my part, and now the rest was up to God and the people at McDonald’s who were supposed to read those online applications.

As I fell asleep, I felt more secure about my job situation than I had in a long time.

Mr. Armstrong wrote in his booklet, The Seven Laws of Success, that, “…nine in ten, at least once or twice in a lifetime, come to the place where they appear to be totally defeated! All is lost!—apparently, that is. They give up and quit, when just a little more determined hanging on, just a little more faith and perseverance—just a little more STICK-TO-IT-IVENESS—would have turned apparent certain failure into glorious success” (emphasis his).

So often, it is all too easy for us to give up when something doesn’t go our way. If something is more difficult than we are expecting, we can automatically want to quit and not be bothered by it. This was the problem that I was facing with the job application for McDonald’s—since I couldn’t get m hands on a physical copy of the application right away, I didn’t want to be bothered with filling it out at all. It was too difficult for the unrewarding outcome that I was expecting. We all easily can, and easily do , fall into this frame of mind. But, as Mr. Armstrong said, this is the precise moment when we need to persevere, because so often we are right on the cusp of a great success!

I didn’t hear from McDonald’s for a couple days after that night. But just when I started to despair that no one had read my application after all, the phone rang and I heard my dad yelling that it was for me—and it was from McDonald’s! I ran to meet him and took the phone from him with slightly trembling hands.

“Hello?”

“Hi, my name is Frank and I was wondering if you would like to come into our restaurant for an interview.”

This was it! The moment I had been waiting for! My heart rate wildly accelerated as I heard, and tried to comprehend, the words the manager was saying to me from the other end of the telephone line. As coherently as I could, I accepted his offer and set a time for an interview the next day. The minutes following the phone call were filled with joyous excitement, and the next day, as I walked back into that building and was greeted with the same smells that I had dejectedly left behind only a few days before, the excitement, now mixed with nervousness as well, remained.

After waiting about twenty minutes while the restaurant went through a busy spell, I was greeted by the general manager and the interview began. We talked for about ten minutes before she told me to come back in a couple days to sign the paper work and make it official.

What?

I sat there, after we had parted ways, stunned to silence. In ten minutes, half the time that I had waited for the interview to start, I had gone from being jobless to being a member of the employed workforce!

It took a couple minutes to sink in, but once it did, I couldn’t knock the smile off my face: I had a job!

Imagine if I hadn’t filled out the online application on that rainy night. My failure to persevere would probably have meant that I would still be jobless to this day. But, because I did persevere through the disappointing denials and the deepening sense of defeat, I was able to turn that application in and today I have a job! I learned a large-sized lesson from that McDonald’s experience. I learned the importance ofperseverance.

SECOND PLACE: “Horse Memories” byJessica Brandon

A memory

With Grandad, searching for some old tapes

In the cabinets of his house.

He discovers things he had forgotten—

“Oh, look at this! I remember when…”

And then he pulls out something shiny:

A silver horse, glinting in the winter afternoon sun.

Its delicate animation makes my breath catch.

A colt, its muscles finely etched,

With a funny, brush-like tail and perked-up ears—

A frisky little fellow.

Grandad smiles. “Do you want him?”

I can only nod. I take it in my hands,

So awed and proud to be the owner of such a precious thing.

Another time.

With Grandad, brushing the soft brown coat of Chocolate Chips,

A funny little Shetland pony.

I stand on a stool to currycomb his coat,

Loving the feel of the brush in my hand

And the satisfaction of seeing his coat shine

As I brush out the grime and paddock dust.

Grandad admires my work.

“Good job! Do you want to ride him now?”

I nod in excitement.

Grandad tacks him up, and I get on.

I love the feel of the pony under me

As Grandad leads us gently around the yard.

I love it. I don’t want to stop.

And then one day,

With Grandad, buying boots and chaps and gloves.

I’m going to have riding lessons.

Scared and happy at the same time—

What if I’m not good enough?

My first lesson,

He and Nana drive me

And I sit and watch by the ring

As I take my first real ride on a horse.

I love riding—the power of the horses,

Their intelligence and speed,

Brushing them afterwards to thank them for the ride,

And seeing the look of pride in Grandad’s eyes

As we ride back in the car and talk horses.

One afternoon,

With Grandad inside, very ill.

He’s dying, but I don’t believe it yet.

His horse, which I named Bonnie, is out back.

She’s lonely, and Grandad knows it.

He asks me to go brush her,

So I go out to the barn and find a brush.

She’s skittish at first, but soon quiets down

Under the soothing influence of brush and comb.

As I brush, I think—

Remembering the times on Chocky Chips

With Grandad leading, and riding lessons,

And a little silver horse that began my horse love—

Something Grandad shared with me.

THIRD PLACE: “A Lion’s Bout” by David Warner

Slowly stalking around in plain sight, not covered by shadows

Bearing teeth like falchions, and claws like knives

Seething rage that none can hold, it thoroughly outflows

All this at me it drives

I glare back, with an air of intimidation.

Readying myself for confrontation

I poise to strike; he goes to pounce

Sending forward, he intends to trounce

We meet midair, crashing back down to earth

With face contorted and twisted into an overwhelming force

Transcending to a point of total berserk

Gaining high ground, I hammer down

Mane in hand, breast in claw

Under blow and bite, we end the fight

And decide to call it a draw.