CANFIELD – Students in the Creative Arts & Design program at Mahoning County Career & Technical College recently partnered with Animal Charity on a real-world design project supporting the organization’s Charlie’s Secret Wish Program.

Animal Charity reached out to Creative Arts & Design instructor Melissa Hackett to invite her students to participate in a logo design contest for the new program. Students were provided with professional design guidelines and challenged to create original logos using varied color palettes, typography, and meaningful inspiration behind each design.

A total of 25 logos were submitted and reviewed by Animal Charity, who narrowed the entries down to five finalists. Representatives from the organization visited MCCTC to judge the final designs, where five senior students presented their logos and explained the inspiration behind their work.

Grace Kirkpatrick was selected as the overall winner, with her design chosen to officially represent the Charlie’s Secret Wish Program. In an impressive show of student talent, all five finalist designs were selected for use within the organization:

– Caleb Greathouse’s logo will be featured on t-shirts for Animal Charity’s annual Furballevent

– Savion Tuitt’s design will be used during the organization’s tattoo fundraising events

– Evelynn Blasiman and Katelyn Garces’ logos will be incorporated into murals in Animal Charity’s new community common space

All five designs will also be professionally framed and displayed in the organization’s community space, along with each student’s written inspiration behind their logo.

Judges for the project included Jake Underwood and Jenny Falvey representing Animal Charity, Kristin Demidovich representing local health care providers, and Morgan O’Brian representing Cornerstone Caregivers. Together, they evaluated the designs based on creativity, message, and alignment with the mission of the Charlie’s Secret Wish Program.

Representatives expressed how impressed they were by the students’ professionalism, creativity, and presentation skills, noting the quality of work exceeded expectations and reflected industry-level design talent.

This collaboration provided students with valuable real-world experience, reinforcing MCCTC’s commitment to hands-on learning, community partnerships, and preparing students for careers in creative industries.