Holy Cross High School students, Greg Pomerleau ’16 and Eren Lee Han ’16 were honored at the Connecticut Association of Schools (CAS) High School Outstanding Arts Awards banquet. They were two of 305 top Connecticut seniors who excel at the arts. This banquet annually recognizes two seniors in each CAS-member high school for outstanding ability in the performing or visual arts. The students are selected by their school to receive this honor. The banquet, with more than 1,400 in attendance, is sponsored by Jostens and Bearingstar Insurance.
Greg is an ardent participator and supporter of Holy Cross’s Performing Arts program. He joined the stage crew in the Holy Cross Student Theatre and worked his way up the chain of command. He worked as a Head of the Deck Crew and Stage Manager. He is also active a skilled musician having studied alto and baritone saxophone. He started learning the alto sax in fourth grade.
“All the kids here are really dedicated to music,” said Greg. “They want to achieve and perform well at the concerts.”
Greg also has advice for people who have interest in joining the theatre program. “Come in and try it out,” he said. “We can always use you. You can end up being like me. I came in as a freshman, not knowing anyone, and ended up being the backstage lead.”
Queens, New York native, Eren Lee Han has excelled in the Visual Arts. She is adept at creating with inks, charcoal, copic markers and watercolors. Her style is heavily influenced by Eastern Asian cultures, Anime and Manga.
Eren took Holy Cross Art Teacher, Roseanne Shea’s Drawing and Design class in her Sophomore year. She faced many restrictions in early junior high classes, but was surprised at the creative freedom in this class. “The pieces in my middle school were uniform to each other,” said Eren. “Here, I could pretty much do what I want while following guidelines.”
Eren originally pursued art because she had to stop doing sports. “I used to be very athletic,” she said. “When I wasn’t playing a sport, I was doodling on something.” That was the first spark, and the rest is history.