Hoover junior Anais Joseph-Lynch earned first place in the California Armenian Legislative Caucus Foundation’s Art Scholarship Contest, receiving a prize of $1,000 for her ceramic pieces exploring intimate themes of family and culture. 

Initially, Joseph-Lynch didn’t expect to win anything.

“Because it was state-wide, I wasn’t expecting much,” explained Joseph-Lynch. “I really just wanted to make something that was representative [of my family].”

However, she felt strongly about the themes portrayed in her pieces.

“My family is like the life-line to my culture,” claimed Joseph-Lynch. “The women in my family are [especially] such an important part of that.” 

“Gender roles are very prevalent…it’s still a matriarchal culture. A big part of me being Armenian is also me being Armenian as a woman.”

Joseph-Lynch plans to use her scholarship for college. 

“College is one of those big expenses that all of us juniors are concerned about,” said Joseph-Lynch. “It’s nice to get to pay some of that myself, even if it’s a small portion compared to how much college tuition is in total.” 

Joseph-Lynch’s advanced ceramics teaher Gina Brownstein called the junior an amazing student.

“She’s very creative and I’m so excited for her,” Brownstein said.