A Christmas card featuring the artwork of a Somerton student will soon be sent out to about 1,400 homes around the region.
Stephanie Vogelman, 22, won a contest to design a card to be sent to all high schoolers who have been admitted to Neumann University. The painting depicts St. Francis of Assisi surrounded by animals and St. Nicholas distributing gifts to children.
Vogelman, a senior at Neumann, has used art in a variety of ways while in college. She painted and sold 35 to 40 pieces to raise money for a service trip to Guatemala earlier this year and has utilized her art skills to design T-shirts and banners for events.
“Painting is a big part of my life,” said Vogelman, a 2014 graduate of Archbishop Wood High School.
Through selling paintings, Vogelman was able to raise between $700 and $800 for the Guatemala trip. She served in a boarding school for underprivileged children.
“It was an incredible experience,” Vogelman said. “I got a lot of exposure to different types of cultures and got to work with a lot of different people.”
Vogelman is in the process of selling more paintings to raise money for a pilgrimage to Italy with other college students. They will visit Rome and Assisi and tour sites that were important to St. Francis and St. Claire.
Vogelman, who is a member of St. Christopher Parish, is studying social work at Neumann and plans to graduate in May.
She painted the Christmas card design on a 5-by-7-inch canvass. It’s the first time Neumann has held the competition.
“Using a Christmas card that is designed by a student gives us the opportunity to showcase the many talents of the young women and men who are part of the Neumann family,” Neumann President Dr. Chris Domes said in a statement.
Vogelman was thankful for the opportunity and hopes the contest returns in the future.
“I’m very grateful that I was given the opportunity to showcase my work,” she said. ••
Jack Tomczuk can be reached at [email protected]
