Daniel Calderon, Junior and TI Advanced Studies student, won first place in the North Carolina State Fair Design Competition where entries had to be related to the theme, “Nothing Could Be Finer” as a tribute to the State Fair and North Carolina.

“When I saw that I actually won, it surprised me because I didn’t expect to [win] first place,” said Calderon.

Not only has Calderon earned a well-deserving prize of $100, but he has also acquired many skills along the way.

“Dan has a really good ability, but has some things to work on,” said Emily Scales, the Digital Media teacher. “He is very talented.”

Since Scales presented the competition to the class, it was constant feedback between the both of them, Calderon and Scales, to get the entry just right.

“We [composed] a lot of feedback, Dan and I, as he [would] do it and I’d go ‘change this’ and ‘fix that’,” said Scales. “It was back and forth a lot on his project, so it was really awesome that all his hard work paid off.”

Perseverance, hard work, and dedication were all of the qualities, plus some, that Calderon needed and used to achieve this first place.

“I like to push myself to do harder things,” Calderon said. “I still did my best.”

As far as his future goes, Calderon has a pretty good idea of what he may do.

“I would see myself doing graphic design because it is really fun to do.”