The creative side of VMI

&emsp;&emsp;The night of Wednesday, 07 December 2022, the Cadence Journal held a reception for their 2022 Creative Arts Contest winners. At the beginning of September, the Creative Arts Contest was opened to current Cadets at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI). This contest is hosted by the Cadence Journal and the English, Writing, and Rhetoric Department at VMI. Headed by MAJ Henry Wise and MAJ Kimberly Anderson, the journal acts as a place where the creative side of the institute may be showcased. As a military institute focused on academics, military and physical training, and leadership, a cadet's creativity is not often given the opportunity to be recognized. However, this does not mean it does not exist. As such, Cadence was created to allow cadet's the opportunity to showcase their artistic talent. &emsp;&emsp;The Creative Arts Contest is an extension of this journal. Here, cadets may submit their work not only for the opportunity to be showcased, but also for the chance to win prize money. After roughly two months of submissions and deliberations, the judges had come to their decisions regarding the winners of this contest. Thus, Wednesday night, the winners and participants of the contests, in addition to the cadet and staff editors, gathered together in the common area on the fourth floor of Scott Ship Hall to hear from the contest winners. &emsp;&emsp;While the contest may be over, Cadence is still accepting submissions for their publication in the April of the Spring Semester. Cadets have until midnight, 17 February 2023 to submit any of their creative work, be it fiction, nonfiction, poetry, photography, or other visual arts. All you have to do is email your work to cadence@vmi.edu with your name, class at VMI, genre of submission and the title of your submission. So, if you have creative work of any kind, consider showcasing it in VMI's creative arts journal, Cadence. &emsp;&emsp;Below are the winners of the 2022 Creative Arts Contest and their works: 2022 Creative Arts Contest Awards Fiction:1st Place: "Stories of an Old Man," Kyle Dargis '242nd Place: "A Day in the Life," Russell Crouch '243rd Place: "Total Mobilization," Antonio Lemus '24Honorable Mention: "A Duty Fulfilled," Antonio Cortez '24 Photography:1st Place: "Passing By," Nathan Light '222nd Place: "Two Photos Taken with a Tin Can," Kolton Dobson '233rd Place: "Vapor and Fire," Jonathan Wenger '23Honorable Mention: "Autumn at the Blue Ridge Parkway," Hannah White '24 Poetry: 1st Place: "A Garden of Ashes," Gretal Shank '252nd Place: "Symphony of Silence," Holly Hein '233rd Place: "Wood," Adam Cioffi 2023+3 Other Visual Arts: 1st Place: "Los Médanos de Coro (2020)," Fabiana Pájaro 2023+3 2nd Place: "Broken Promises," Giovanna Donatelli '233rd Place: "Not a Painting," William Longacher '24Honorable Mention: "Regal," Nathalie Lavender 2023+3 Nonfiction: 1st Place: "Of Feathers and Frailty," Gretal Shank '25Honorable Mention: "The Life I've Lived," Mary Coady 2023+3