Scituate 6th grader makes her own history on Alaska’s Iditarod Trail – The Boston Globe

“I was shocked,” Hanks said in an interview at her family’s home, “but I was really, really happy.”

Her English teacher sent her mother, Karyn Hanks, an email notifying her that Violet had won. The proud mother cried tears of joy, and couldn’t wait to see her daughter after school.

“I was like, ‘I’m just going to meet her down at the bus,’ which I don’t usually do,” Karyn Hanks said. “As I was going over the little hill, I saw her running from the bus, and we were both jumping up and down.”

The 54th annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race kicks off March 7 with an 11-mile, ceremonial start through Anchorage. The real work begins the following day, when the mushers guide their sled dogs across approximately 1,000 miles of extreme terrain from Willow to Nome.

Along the route, mushers carry “trail mail” to honor the history of sled dogs delivering mail along the Iditarod Trail. Letters and artwork from students are carried by mushers in the race, and then returned to them afterward.

Hanks’ design will be printed on envelopes used for every piece of trail mail. She also got to choose a musher to carry her own piece of trail mail. She chose last year’s Iditarod winner, Jessie Holmes.

Violet’s English teacher, Brian Hickox, and art teacher Tracey Woodford collaborated to promote the contest to their students.

Hickox has a history with the Iditarod, having served in 2019 as the “Teacher on the Trail,” where he traveled along the Iditarod trail in Alaska, reporting on the events and building themed lessons for teachers.

Hickox said many of their students expressed interest in the art contest, and six submitted. When he found out Hanks won, he was ecstatic.

“I almost couldn’t even sleep all night,” he said. “That’s how excited I was, because I knew how much it meant to just earn this achievement.”

Iditarod EDU staff sifted through submissions and chose five finalists, said Jim Deprez, Iditarod EDU co-director. Renowned Alaskan artists Jon and Jona Van Zyle decided the overall winner and two runners up.

The theme for this year’s trail mail contest was “Celebrating Iditarod Veterinarians,” honoring the roughly 50 volunteer vets who monitor the health and safety of the sled dogs.

Hanks’ design depicts the female veterinarian and dog smiling, with bubble hearts between them. The design is splashed with blue watercolor, which Deprez said impressed the staff.

“This one was a little different because it was watercolor, which we don’t see a whole lot of,” he said, “and the drawing itself, with … the expressions on the faces that she was able to portray, it spoke volumes.”

Woodford previously taught Hanks in elementary school. A few summers ago, the pair became pen pals , sending each other their artwork, including watercolor book marks by Hanks.

“She’s been a student that’s been really close to my heart for many years,” Woodford said. “It was really nice to see that her talents are recognized at a much larger scale, because I’ve always known that she’s something special.”

Lauren Albano can be reached at lauren.albano@globe.com. Follow her on X @LaurenAlbano_.