Kern County Students Earn State Recognition in Kids Art Contest
Friday April 17, 2026
Several talented students from Kern County are being celebrated as state-level winners in the 6th Annual Child Abuse Prevention Month Kids Art Contest, a statewide competition that invited youth to showcase their hopes and aspirations through this year’s theme, My Big Dream.
Winning artwork from across California is being displayed throughout April at the Office of Child Abuse Prevention in Sacramento. Local winners will also receive their framed artwork, an art set, a Habit Burger meal gift certificate, and a skating pass to Valley Children’s Skating Rink.
The contest theme encouraged students to creatively express their dreams for the future, and Kern County’s winners did just that through imaginative and inspiring pieces.
Kazimira Sampson
Kindergarten
Dolores S. Whitley Elementary
Antonio Sampson
2nd Grade
Dolores S. Whitley Elementary
Sophia Shen
3rd Grade
Mojave River Academy Bakersfield Branch
Jocelyn Cadena
6th Grade
Rio Bravo Greeley Middle School
Eden
8th Grade
Greenfield Middle School
Lizbeth Ramirez
8th Grade
Mountain View Middle School
Kamren Franco
11th Grade
Highland High School
By Robert Meszaros
Rob Meszaros is Director of Communications for the Kern County Superintendent of Schools, where he has served since 2012. In his role, Meszaros oversees media relations, internal and external communication strategies, publications, Marcom, branding, and multi-media content creation. Before joining KCSOS, Meszaros was the PIO for CSU Bakersfield and earlier worked for seven years at The Bakersfield Californian.