On Friday, May 11, U.S. Rep. Lynn Jenkins stepped through a door beneath the Firebird that watches over the Commons, walked down an endless hall of green lockers and entered a room decked with wooden easels and color-coated canvasses.

She did not come to Free State to speak about government policy, new legislation or the path to becoming a congresswoman. Instead, she came to congratulate seniors Lauren Nus and Hannah Whipple on the first and third place wins, respectively, in the 2012 Annual Congressional Art Competition.

“This unique competition allows members of the United States House of Representatives an opportunity to showcase the artistic talents of high school students within their districts,” Jenkins said in a statement.

Every April, students across the nation are invited to submit artwork to their representatives to compete for a coveted section of wall space in the U.S. Capitol building, where their work will hang for one year. The winner in each state receives a free trip to the nation’s capital to see his or her framed work on display.

Nus created this year’s winning pastel drawing of a Victorian-style mansion last summer in a local art class. She says the piece was inspired by Lawrence’s very own downtown.

“I got third place in the contest my sophomore year, and so I met [Jenkins] at that time,” Nus said. “Meeting her again is kind of nice. The cool part is that I get to go to Washington, D.C.”

Art teacher Carolyn Berry is excited to have two students place in the 2012 competition. In fact, it was Berry who first told Nus that she had won first place.

“And it was on her birthday,” Berry added.

Free State’s last first-place winner was Drue Davis in 2009.

“Usually every year we have someone place,” Berry said, “but we’re not always the winner.”

Whipple’s digital imaging entry, titled “Heart Murmur,” won third place and will hang in Jenkins’ office for one year, along with the second- and fourth-place works.

“It’s basically, as it sounds, a heart with a big hole in it,” Whipple said. “And there are doors on the sides, and there are strings going through the heart hole to symbolize repair.”

Jenkins came to Free State just nine days before the seniors’ graduation ceremony. With high school behind them, both winners are off to college—Whipple to Wichita State University, where she hopes to study forensic science, and Nus to Ringling School of Art and Design to study computer animation.