Hills East Student Honored At Photo Contest

A student from Half Hollow Hills East High School was among the winners of the 9th annual Teen Photo Contest sponsored by Astoria Federal Savings.

Leah Vallario was among 13 students selected from more than 600 photos from students in 54 schools across Nassau, Suffolk, Brooklyn, Queens and Westchester.

The contest encourages students ages 13 to 19 to express their creativity by taking pictures of the world around them. This year's theme, Culture and Traditions, challenged students to capture distinctive and unique photographs of what visually represents the people in their lives and the customs that help make them who they are. 

"The Teen Photo Contest is a program that we look forward to every year, and we were thoroughly impressed by the communities' participation and the quality of the work that was submitted," said Brian Edwards, Astoria Federal Savings executive vice president and managing director of the Retail Banking Group. 

The winning submissions were selected based on their composition, clarity and originality in expressing the contest's theme.  The 13 winning photographers were recognized at an award ceremony, held recently at Astoria Federal Savings headquarters in Lake Success.  Each winner received a $250 cash prize, while their schools received a $100 grant to be used toward their art departments.