Beaumont youth captures graphic design gold at provincials

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Beaumont’s Bella Kehoe continues to make waves in the world of graphic design.

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This past May, the youth competed in the 2024 Provincial Skills Canada Competition held at the Edmonton EXPO Centre. There, Kehoe joined over 700 high school and post-secondary students from across Alberta to battle it out in 45 different trades and skills.

Kehoe is no stranger to the event, having won gold in the high school graphic design category in 2023.

“Knowing it’s hard to get it all done and knowing that you just have to make fast decisions and roll with whatever you have was definitely useful,” Kehoe says.

However, this time, the young designer would be taking her talents to the post-secondary level after graduating from Beaumont Composite High School last June. Joining her were Kaley Taylor — Kehoe’s mentor and former high school teacher — and two Grade 11 Beaumont Composite students.

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“They were experiencing the competition for the first time, so it was fun to help them through and tell them what to expect.”

Those in graphic design were given several assignments over the two-day competition, including a brochure, logo, table tent, geofilters and even a surprise button design they had just 30 minutes to complete.

“It really shows that they try to reflect the workplace as much as possible with last-minute projects and things that come up.”

Despite the curveball, Kehoe rose to the occasion, ultimately finishing first and clinching a trip to nationals for the second straight year. This year’s Skills Canada National Competition saw over 500 other Canadian youth make their way to Québec City.

Like provincials, competitors are given multiple tasks to complete over two gruelling days. Day one featured a booklet design for fish at the local aquarium, which Kehoe says her friends luckily convinced her to go to the day before. Other projects included fish icons, logo packaging and social media posts.

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When the dust settled, Kehoe finished just four points away from a spot on the podium.

“I got bronze last year, but this year, being in post-secondary, I was quite proud of getting fifth in a whole new level.”

The accomplishment is even more impressive when considering Kehoe — an education major — was up against graphic design students. The teen says she is trying to get into some graphic design courses this fall, but in the meantime has been keeping her skills sharp by operating a custom T-shirt business and doing freelance work.

Kehoe hopes to one day merge her love for being in front of a whiteboard with her love for being behind a computer.

“I think there’s a lot of opportunity to teach kids basic design skills and also use them on my own. There’s lots of possibilities,” Kehoe said. “Having a job like Mrs. Taylor, where I get to teach that full time, is the ultimate goal.”

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