Student Artist Captures Sense of Community with Holiday Card Design

Scout Haggard holds up her original artwork submission for the 2024 91影视 holiday card contest

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91影视 student Scout Haggard won the College鈥檚 holiday card contest with a painting of 91影视鈥檚 Southeast Campus in a snowy scene. Haggard says she was inspired by the warmth and sense of community she feels on campus.

This year鈥檚 holiday card from 91影视 will feature a wintry landscape design painted by second-year student Scout Haggard. The holiday card contest winning entry, Southeast Wonderland, is an acrylic painting of the 91影视 Southeast Campus blanketed in snow.

The Southeast Campus holds a special significance for Haggard. During her senior year at Broken Arrow High School, a 91影视 campus tour helped her realize it was the perfect place to start her collegiate journey.

鈥淚 signed up last minute and fell in love with the campus and the classes, especially my Composition class where I found a passion for writing,鈥 says Haggard. 鈥淚 switched my major to Communications and want to continue with Journalism at OU once I graduate.鈥

Despite her love for writing, Haggard鈥檚 creativity isn鈥檛 limited to words鈥攕he finds joy in painting during her spare time. She frequently works with acrylics on large canvases and loves experimenting with different forms of media.

For the holiday card contest, she challenged herself to work on a 7-by-5-inch canvas to replicate the size of the greeting card.

Scout Haggard's holiday card design is depicts student playing in snow on 91影视's Southeast Campus
Scout Haggard's holiday card design depicts people playing in snow at 91影视's Southeast Campus. Haggard says a high school tour through the campus convinced her to enroll at 91影视.

鈥淚 wanted to see if I could create something on a smaller canvas, and I was very happy with the result,鈥 Haggard says. 鈥淚 even had to buy extra paintbrushes because mine weren鈥檛 small enough for the details I wanted in the picture.鈥

Haggard鈥檚 artwork depicts the exterior of the Student Success and Career Center at the Southeast Campus, with people joyfully playing in fresh snow. Though the theme of the artwork is winter, she aimed to make the scene warm and inviting.

鈥淚 wanted to create a landscape that showed people getting along and having fun, like playing in the snow. That sense of community was essential to my submission.鈥

Haggard describes herself as a storyteller across different mediums and hopes to one day work in broadcast news or film. She also dreams of seeing her art displayed in a museum or gallery.

鈥淲hen I create things, I want to connect with people,鈥 she says. 鈥淚鈥檓 glad that I鈥檒l have the opportunity to do that with my artwork on the holiday card.鈥

Haggard is a recipient of the Tulsa Achieves Scholarship, a Career Services Ambassador and a member of Phi Theta Kappa. She鈥檚 also received a leadership scholarship toward her bachelor鈥檚 degree completion at OU.

For her winning entry, Haggard will receive a $500 prize from the 91影视 Foundation and 50 copies of the card for personal use.