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Forty students from central Texas will receive over $7,500 in cash scholarships and other prizes at a special 2:00 p.m. reception this afternoon at Mexic-Arte Museum, 419 Congress Avenue in Texas. The students will receive their awards for their winning entries in the Young Americanos youth photography contest sponsored by Farmers Insurance and the Mexic-Arte Museum.

Receiving the $1,000 Grand Prize cash scholarship will be David Saenz, a 12th-grader from S. F. Austin High School in Austin. His winning photo depicts a young boy participating in an Easter play.

Over 1,000 young people from throughout central Texas submitted photo entries as part of the Young Americanos competition, which encouraged students to photograph Latino culture in central Texas. Other winning photographs offer portraits of area Latinos of all ages while at work, play, in school and after school.

In all, there were 40 scholarship and honorable mention winners, representing Austin, Georgetown, Pflugerville, San Marcos and other area communities. Farmers Insurance provided over $7,500 in cash scholarships and prizes to the winners. The winning photographs will be featured at a special exhibition at Mexic-Arte Museum from May 18 through June 22, 2002. The photographs are also available for viewing at the award-winning web site, http://www.youngamericanos.net/ .

The Young Americanos youth photography contest was developed by Farmers Insurance as an adjunct to Americanos: Latino Life in the United States, a critically-acclaimed photography exhibition which is currently on exhibition at the Mexic-Arte Museum through June 21.

Farmers Insurance is also a national sponsor the Americanos exhibition, which is jointly produced by the Smithsonian Institution and actor/activist Edward James Olmos. The Americanos exhibition will tour cities across the United States through 2004. Locally, the Young Americanos contest was sponsored by Farmers Insurance and Mexic-Arte Museum.

"These photographs are outstanding. The students have truly captured what life is like in our Hispanic communities here in central Texas," said John Hageman, Texas state director for Farmers Insurance. "Every student, their families and their teachers should be proud of their accomplishments."

As the nation's third largest insurer of homes and automobiles, Farmers Insurance strives to meet the needs of all consumers in the communities in which it operates. In addition, Farmers is a committed partner with a number of community-based organizations throughout the country.

Following is a list of all the scholarship and honorable mention winners and their schools.

        Grand Prize Winner
        David A. Saenz                S. F. Austin High School

        High School Winners
        Jessica L. Bonin              Crockett High School
        Armando Esquivel              San Marcos High School
        Jessica K. Fink               Durham High School
        Diana Galindo                 Delvalle High School
        Raul A. Hernandez             Oakmont High School
        Angela M. Kopecki             Durham High School
        Dodji K. Koudakpo             Travis High School
        Carina R. Boston Pinales      San Marcos High School
        Georgina Regalado             Crockett High School
        Sarah L. Simpson              Durham High School
        Noah A. Zimmerman             Bartlett High School

        Middle School Winners
        Cory J. Gonzalez              Porter Middle School
        Leigh Ann Piefer              Hill Country Middle School

        Elementary School Winners
        Elizabeth Barrientos          Mathews Elementary School
        Keifer E. Bastidas            Oak Hill Elementary School
        Jesus Burgos                  Andrews Elementary School
        Daniel J. Castaneda           Metz Elementary School
        Xavier Hernandez              Andrews Elementary School
        Edson Linares                 Metz Elementary School
        Maria Lopez                   Blanton Elementary School
        Scott W. McBryde              Pat Cooper Elementary School
        Sean McBryde                  Sean McBride Elementary School
        Luisa Morales                 Oak Hill Elementary School
        Raymundo Luna                 Dawson Elementary School
        Leydi Laura Perez Lopez       St. Elmo Elementary School
        Ashley Salazar                Norman Elementary School
        Victoria N. Salazar           Bagdad Elementary School
        Brenda Salinas                T. A. Brown Elementary School
        Ernesto Santillan, Jr.        Lamar Middle School
        Cindy Soto-Gutierrez          Metz Elementary School
        Ashley Trujillo               Brooke Elementary School

        Honorable Mention Winners
        John Castelan                 Hemphill Elementary School
        Hiley A. Escobar              Graham Elementary School
        Adriana J. Esquivel           Andrews Elementary School
        Alberto Garcia                Palm Elementary School
        Steven M. Lopez               Alternative Learning Center
        Elizabeth L. Reyes            Lamar Middle School
        Veronica E. Rivera            Park Crest Middle School

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SOURCE: Farmers Insurance; Mexic-Arte Museum