Pasadena Water and Power has announced the winners of the 2024 Educational Scholarship and “Water is Life” Art Contest.

Emmeline Clougherty and Londyn Sewell, both of John Muir High School, are the contest’s two scholarship winners. And its three art contest winners are Keira Lam, Olivia Hur, and Magdalena Scholze, from Polytechnic School and Westridge School.

The contest, held each year, is part of a partnership with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

Mayor Victor Gordo and City Manager Miguel Márquez recognized the winners at a recent City Council meeting.

The educational scholarship offers a first-place prize of $5,000, and a second place of $2,500. It’s open to high school seniors living in Pasadena, Altadena and San Gabriel who enroll as full-time students at an accredited, post-secondary institution in the following academic year.

In her entry, Clougherty, the first-place winner for the scholarship, presented a winning essay that highlighted the advantages of electrification. The essay reflected on actions governments are taking to incentivize electrification.

“I’m excited to put this scholarship towards furthering my education at Berkeley, where I can expand my knowledge of environmental policy and legislation for a healthy, happy planet!” said Clougherty, who plans on attending UC Berkeley, in a statement.

Second-place winner Sewell’s essay focused on the effects the electrification of vehicles and buildings have on the world. The future Michigan State University student plans to study communications.

Sewell is “grateful to be a recipient for this scholarship” as it allowed her to “think deeply about the prompt, really get creative, and dive deep into the topic.”

The “Water is Life” Art Contest happens each year and is open to all Pasadena students in grades K—12 who live in Pasadena, Altadena and San Gabriel.

All three winning submissions were submitted to the Metropolitan Water District for consideration in their annual Student Art Calendar.

“Congratulations to all winners,” said Water and Power Interim General Manager David Reyes said in a statement. “As a community-owned utility, PWP takes pride in empowering local youth about water conservation through educational programs like the ‘Water is Life’ Art Contest.”

For more information and to view the winning essays and artwork, go to PWPweb.com/Education.