On April 18, freshman Eiden Jorisch eagerly awaited hearing his name announced as an award winner at the 2026 NORA photography competition. As the announcer went down the list of honorable mentions and reached the top three winners, Jorisch was declared to have won second place in the category for relics, and joined the group of eight award winners from JDS.
This year, photography teacher Debra Dilworth helped her students submit work to the Congressional Arts and NORA photography competitions. Dilworth offers semester and year-long photography courses for both the middle and high school, teaching students about the various styles and techniques that encompass photography. Although the course is not intended to prepare students to enter competitions, Dilworth advocates for all her students to submit some of their work.
“I think when you compete or when you do extra curriculars, academic or creative activities, it actually allows you to put that on your college applications, [and] to not be afraid to go after things that you might want to go after,” Dilworth said. “Even if it’s not art, but just to give you that competitive edge to say ‘I’m good enough, my work is good enough’.”
Sophomore Hannah Jakabovics won first place in the digital photography section and was awarded $100 in prize money. Unlike most categories, Jakabovics’ photo was altered using Lightroom, an online tool used to make enhancements and different designs. Her photo was originally a part of an assignment in class, where she took self-portraits of herself and a volleyball and created a grid, using varied photographs in each square.
“I wasn’t really expecting to win anything,’ Jakabovics said. “I was just submitting for fun, because I did last year and I didn’t win anything. So, it’s like, ‘oh, it’ll be fun again.’ I really like these two pictures that I submitted … and then I was just very surprised when she told me [that I had won], and that was very exciting.”
Jakabovics was first introduced to photography through her dad, who owns his own camera and also enjoys taking photos. When she arrived at JDS and saw that it was offered as an elective course, Jakabovics decided it would be a good opportunity and experience.
“I think that my pictures are becoming more conceptual, a nd I’m thinking things out more and thinking about the way I want to see them, and not just snapping a picture with my phone,” Jakabovics said.
Similarly to Jakabovics, Jorisch has been interested in photography since he found his mom’s old camera in third grade. After dropping the hobby for a while, Jorisch rediscovered the camera and decided to take Dilworth’s photography course, where he continues to grow his skills while mastering different components of the camera.
“I’ve just learned so much more about the features of it and how to really see the photo that I want, how to make it happen, because there’s so many different aspects that can affect your photo,” Jorsich said.
Jorsich’s winning photograph captured an outstretched tallit with a siddur open to the Shema, and a chain with the Magen David draped across it.
“It just symbolizes that there’s one God in a sense,” Jorisch said. “… We have all these things that occupy our minds, the things that we want to buy, all these things. And if we just step back [and] look, we realize there’s one being that put us on this earth.”
The success that JDS has in these competitions is not limited to this year alone. Through the help of Dilworth, students have been consistently performing well at photography competitions, learning and mastering composition, focal point, exposure and tone.
“It makes me wake up in the middle of night and smile and go, ‘my students rock’, and it just makes me work harder and kind of adapt and change the program to something more progressive, more conceptual,” Dilworth said. “… After eight years, this year seems to be my best year, and I’m getting the results from my students, but also I’m getting the results from my teaching. I feel like I’m making a difference.”
