When Alexa Jo Udermann, 13, found out she had won the state’s Reading in the Arts contest, she was already in the land of Disney.
“My parents didn’t tell me I had won until I got there,” she said with a laugh as she recalled her arrival at the Swan and Dolphin resort last week.
The competition, led by Florida’s “Just Read” Department of Education initiative in conjunction with the film release on Dec. 9 of Disney’s “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” urged kids to create a drawing inspired by the story. Alexa, a student at Rochelle School of the Arts, won first place in the middle school category.
“I only thought I was a finalist,” Alexa said. “I was thrilled because I got to see the movie first at a private screening in a small theater in MGM studios that only fits about 170 people.
“And want to know something cool? We got to choose whatever we wanted from their own concession stand.”
But popcorn, candy and a private premiere weren’t the only goodies Alexa received for her winning illustration. The drawing, which took her about six days to complete with the use of Prismacolor pencils, gained her an array of prizes that included an iPod Shuffle, a weekend stay at an Orlando resort, attraction passes that she intends to use at Magic Kingdom, a $25 certificate to Books-A-Million, a $100 Visa gift card, a behind-the-scenes book on the making of the “Narnia” film and a poster of the movie signed by the film’s cast.
According to Alexa, all this was quite an honor for just a class project led by her eight-grade teacher, Kent McAllister, who encouraged his students to participate in the contest.
“I’m always telling the kids to give different opportunities a shot, and I make sure they all participate and give their best,” said McAllister. “We are all very proud of Alexa and happy she won.”
