Rivesville student's art is tops in state drug awareness contest

May 29—RIVESVILLE — An eighth grade student at Rivesville Elementary-Middle School capped off her academic year by winning a statewide contest.

Fourteen-year-old Liliona Wright was first named a regional winner in the Kids Kick Opioids Contest, but on Thursday, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey announced Wright had been chosen as the state winner from among 67 pieces of art submitted for this year's competition.

"Liliona's design shows the grim reality of the opioid epidemic and how opioid abuse can destroy lives," Morrisey said. "My congratulations to Liliona, our runner-up and all of our regional winners for their hard work in promoting awareness of opioid abuse. We must do everything possible to attack the root causes of addiction and teach our youth the serious consequences of drug abuse."

Wright's art features a drawing of a woman crying with a thought bubble that depicts prescription pills above her head. "She was beautiful like a porcelain doll until she picked up the bottle, beauty began to fade as the doll cracked and shattered...," the illustration reads.

Morrisey said Wright's artwork will soon appear in newspapers across West Virginia in a public service announcement. The 2021 contest marks the fifth year Morrisey and his staff have conducted the contest.

Judges also recognized Caitlin Modesitt, an eighth-grade student at Ravenswood Middle School in Jackson County, as the statewide runner-up. Her design will appear with Wright's on the Attorney General's website.

In coming up with her design, Wright said her goal was to make her art relatable.

"I wanted to make the wording personal so anyone who sees it can relate to the tragedy of addiction," she said. "I chose to make the girl into a shattering porcelain doll because even though things can look good on the surface, people can be shattering in the inside."

Wright said she did not expect to win.

"It's shocking because there are so many schools and students participating, and to be the winner is hard to describe," she said. "I just wanted to get the message out there about this issue that our state is struggling with." I didn't expect to win."

This marks the third year that students from Chris Malnick's health classes have been honored for their work to raise awareness of the dangers of opioid use. He said he is proud of her and the work she has done.

"I'm really proud of Liliona and all of our middle school students. They work really on their posters and relating the message to the drawing," Malnick said.

Malnick said opioid abuse is real to the residents of Marion County.

"So many people's lives have been impacted by this epidemic. It's important that our young people are aware of the dangers of opioid use. These students will be the ones that ultimately defeat the epidemic through awareness and safe practices for dealing injuries and pain," Malnick said.

Wright joins two other students from her school who have garnered statewide praise for their entries in the annual Kids Kick Opioids contest. In May 2020, Dakota Niebergau, an eighth-grade student at tied for statewide runner-up. In 2019, the school produced its first statewide winner in then-eighth grader Karter King.

"I just wanted to send that once you try them they're almost impossible to stop," she said. "Just don't in the first place really and I just wanted to explain the danger."

Karter's poster depicted a talking opioid saying goodbye to his wife on the way to his job, where he spends his time "ruining lives." Their house is a prescription bottle and the bush has pills in it. The caption says "Try them and see, you might never break free." According to Karter, this was a depiction of a doctor ready to prescribe too many opioids, which could be what starts a person on the path to dependence and addiction.

School Principal Tyson Furgason said he is extraordinarily proud of his students who work hard to share what they've learned about the dangers of drugs with others each year.

"We're thrilled to have five regional winners, and especially excited about Liliona winning. She is our second winner in four years. She is a very intelligent, articulate, and talented young lady. We're confident that she's going to do great things. This is an important issue that needs attention and we're happy to educate our students on the dangers opioids can pose. Mr. Malnick does an incredible job of doing that, and our students have responded really well."

Along with Wright's statewide win, her fellow students — Tanner Eddy, Khloee Eagle, Kirsten McDonald and Aunnah Fritzman — were named regional winners in this year's contest.