U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor announced Alonso High School Senior Nam Ho as the 2015 Congressional Choice Award recipient for Florida’s Congressional District 14. His artwork will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol and compete against hundreds of other congressional district winners from throughout the country during a ceremony in Washington, D.C. in June.

The 2015 winner was revealed yesterday during U.S. Rep. Castor’s congressional art competition ceremony at the Tampa Museum of Art, where varied art pieces of 64 finalists were exhibited through yesterday. 

“This is one of my favorite events of the year because I get to meet young artists from across the Tampa Bay area and see their work exhibited in the beautiful Tampa Museum of Art,” said U.S. Rep. Castor, who hosts the event annually for Tampa Bay’s public and private high schools in Congressional District 14.

U.S. Rep. Castor also welcomed the new Executive Director for the Tampa Museum of Art, Dr. Michael Tomor, who started just days ago but vowed to exhibit the student artwork longer during upcoming years. He also announced that college and university students can now visit the Tampa Museum for free. 

Nam Ho entered U.S. Rep. Castor’s art competition two years ago and received honorable mention. This year, the congressional art competition committee chose him as the winner among nearly 100 entries from 21 schools. His recognition comes with a scholarship, professional framing provided by the Tampa Museum of Art and a trip to Washington, D.C. in June to compete for the national competition, thanks to Southwest Airlines. Nam is the first student from Alonso High School to win U.S. Rep. Castor’s art competition.

“I didn’t expect this,” said Nam, still shaking after the ceremony. 

His artwork is a photo-realistic pencil drawing, his favorite medium, and part of a four-part series that depict the intricate mechanics of a bicycle.

Nam started dabbling in art while at Davidsen Middle School, and now is planning to go to the University of South Florida to study design. 

Nam’s series was an assignment by his art teacher, Cathy Swalls. She was already excited for Nam’s achievement, but was swelled with emotion when yesterday she became the first recipient of the Pamela Heilig Art Teacher Award, named after the beloved Jefferson High School art teacher who passed away last month. The new award will be granted annually to the art teacher of the congressional art winner and comes with $250. But for Ms. Swalls, the recognition was personal.

"She was one of my favorite people. We both started teaching in Hillsborough County at about the same time."

During yesterday’s ceremony, other finalists were recognized with honorable mentions, Water Media Awards by the Florida Watercolor Society, Sculpture Award, Photography Award and Museum Sponsored Awards. A complete list is provided below.

Local artists make up the judging panel for U.S. Rep. Castor’s annual congressional art competition. Last year, the Congressional Choice Award went to a Leto High School student.