Underwood student wins first place with tribute to teacher’s son

Emma Dirkman turned a classroom assignment into a portrait of remembrance, painting a tribute to Underwood art teacher Jonathan Hartman’s son, Cadence Monroe Hartman, and winning first place at the exhibit. In a small school community where teachers, students and families know one another by name, the piece stood out not just for its skill but for the care behind it.

Cadence Monroe Hartman, born May 19, 2006, died Dec. 5, 2024, at age 18. His obituary described him as someone who loved Jesus, his family, church, music, theater, scouting, camping and computers, and said he had a large heart for others and wanted to be helpful whenever he could. Those details give Dirkman’s portrait added weight: the painting was not only an art entry, but also a personal act of support for the Hartman family.

The work resonated because it reached beyond the art room. It honored a young man whose life touched the community and reflected the kind of compassion that Underwood Public School says it aims to build. The district describes learning as something that goes beyond the classroom, with an emphasis on community-building, teamwork, responsibility and compassion, and Dirkman’s portrait fit that mission in a way that few student projects do. It was creative work, but it was also a gesture of kindness and memory.

Underwood sits in Otter Tail County, where school events often carry a hometown reach and student accomplishments become community stories. In this case, the exhibit gave Dirkman a chance to show that art can do more than display technique. It can tell a local story, honor a family known to many readers, and turn grief into something that invites recognition rather than silence. By placing first, Dirkman’s portrait did more than win a ribbon. It captured a moment of shared loss and turned it into a lasting tribute.