This summer, Ashvatha Arun ’23 hosted an art competition for 90 lower and middle school students living in Sirkali, India, the small town where her father was raised. Arun held the competition through her nonprofit Enchanted, which promotes the love of art in underfunded schools.

Carrying out The Bolles Way, she used art commissions and profits from her Etsy shop to fund the materials necessary for the students’ participation as well as the prizes for the competition.

“It was a memorable experience for me to see a tangible product of my efforts,” Arun said. “It motivated me to expand my organization so I will be able to conduct more competitions in the future.”

The theme of this year’s contest was the “Beauty of Sirkali,” which Arun said inspired exceptional entries that depicted regional specialties. She separated the entries by grade level and selected the top three works in each category. Winners received art supplies to nourish their growing talent in addition to gift certificates. Arun also provided a small prize for each student who participated in the competition at an award ceremony hosted by the schools.