Bright idea, execution help Fort Worth-area student earn national photography award

Through the eyes of youths the world might see its way to change.

That’s the hope of Northwest Wilson Middle School student Makenna Morgan, whose photograph titled “Intricate” received the National PTA’s Award of Excellence in photography, one of the top awards in the association’s Reflections program.

Her award-winning photo is of lightbulbs and reflects the competition’s “look within” theme. She said the lightbulbs serve as a metaphor for humanity’s impact on the world.

“If you look closely at these lightbulbs, you will see the filament, which is essentially the backbone of the bulb, much like the spine of a human,” she said. “It takes most of the resistance and heats up as it converts electrical energy to light energy.

“Light is one of the most significant inventions in history. When it was invented it changed the world for the better. We all have light within ourselves that we convert into energy when we help others.”

Morgan, 14, who will be a freshman at Steele Accelerated High School in the fall, is one of just 12 students from Texas to earn recognition in the National PTA Reflections competition. The National PTA will curate art from the competition and display it in January 2021 at the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, D.C., and in June 2021 at the National PTA Convention and Expo in Grapevine.

Morgan said she and her family were on vacation in Los Angeles when the idea came to her for the perfect photo.

“While I was in California, I had been looking for places that I could photograph to match the theme. When I saw the lightbulb exhibit at the Huntington Library I knew that the lightbulbs would be perfect,” she said. “Thus, I took the photo and wrote my artists’ statement about the intricate filaments that lightbulbs harbor.

“I really found the filaments inspiring and wrote about how, essentially, we are intricately made just like the filament and we should all look inside ourselves to find the light that could change the world.”

Wilson Principal Natalie Arnold noted that Morgan is also a member of the National Junior Honor Society and models academic achievement paired with a heart for service.

“Makenna is a wonderful example of the attitude, character, and effort we see in so many of our Wilson students. She went above and beyond to submit her artwork to the PTA Reflections contest, and we are so proud that her effort and talent are being recognized at a national level,” Arnold said.

This is the first major photography award for Morgan, but she hopes to win more with her work. She would also like to make a career out of being a photographer.

“Photography is my greatest passion and my favorite thing to do in my free time. I think it would be amazing if I were to become a professional, accomplished photographer,” she said. “My primary passion right now is landscape and floral photography, but I am also working on my skill in other types of photography, such as portraits.

“For now, I am building up my photography portfolio in hopes of advancing in the future.”