Oceanside filmmaker wins Scholar-Artist award

Oceanside High School senior Jacqueline Xerri won the 2014-15 Long Island Arts Alliance Scholar-Artist award.

LIAA’s Artist Awards program recognizes students judged to be “the best of the best” on Long Island in both academics and in the arts. The Scholar-Artist program mirrors the regions’ Scholar-Athlete programs. High school seniors are nominated by their school districts, and only ten each from Nassau and Suffolk receive the program’s highest honor. LIAA partners with area universities to offer full scholarships to qualified honorees. School arts teachers may nominate students who meet these criteria. Nominations may only be submitted by an authorized school official, like a principal, superintendent or art teacher. Applicants must be graduating seniors from the Class of 2015 and must represent excellence as practicing artists within their chosen discipline. Applicants must demonstrate superior academic achievement with an un-weighted grade point average of 90 or above.

Jacqueline Xerri was nominated by Oceanside High School Film and Broadcasting teacher Audrey Miller for her outstanding video work and accomplishments in the field of Media Arts. Students submit a portfolio of their work, and an essay. Final selections were made by panels of artists and arts educators. The applicants submitted work they felt best represented their creative interests. They had to be technically proficient but more importantly, the artist had to demonstrate a personal aesthetic, one that promised an original contribution to the visual arts.