The past year and a half has been challenging for many people, and some had difficulty finding silver linings. For East Lampeter Township resident Paige Hershey, however, that wasn't the case.

According to Paige's mother, Heather Hershey, Paige has always been a creative and active individual. The 12-year-old attends school in the Conestoga Valley School District. She enjoys reading, writing, playing field hockey and basketball, and swimming. Most of all, she loves to draw, especially horses. To keep herself busy during the COVID-19 pandemic, Paige entered photography, writing, and drawing contests. For the photography contest, Paige had to submit a photo of her pet, and then members of the public voted for the best.

Although Paige's photo did not win, the contest was a learning experience. "I have been teaching her to shoot manual and look at f-stop, shutter speed, and ISO to get that perfect triangle of light," explained Heather, who has dabbled in photography.

Three months into the COVID-19 pandemic, Paige discovered that a local newspaper was asking students to write about the pandemic and how it changed their lives. In addition to several other essays, Paige's work titled "Boredom Leads to Organization" was chosen to be in the newspaper.

Paige also entered two drawing contests, one of which was creating an advertisement for Friendly's, but her work was not chosen. The other drawing contest was Royer's Flowers & Gifts' card design contest for its Kids Club. Although Paige submitted her design on the final entry date, she won.

"We found out during a phone call, and I put Paige on the phone," explained Heather.

"I was so happy," said Paige. "I screamed and did a happy dance!"

Paige's design consists of several different hand-drawn flowers with a message that reads, "Roses are red, violets are blue, and this is ... a happy birthday to you!" Paige's design will adorn electronic birthday cards sent to Royer's Kids Club members in the coming year, and Paige will receive a free bouquet of flowers on her birthday, Sunday, Nov. 21. She was even sent a congratulatory letter from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

"I'm really interested in art, and my art teacher, Mr. Gregg, was a big supporter," stated Paige.

"I'm just so proud of Paige's accomplishments and for making a positive experience out of the pandemic," said Heather.

Royer's Kids Club is free to children ages 5 to 12. With parental permission, children may register for the club at any Royer's store or online at http://www.royers.com/kidsclub. Members receive a variety of benefits. For more information, visit http://www.royers.com.