Dayton senior lauded by City for extraordinary art, achievement

The City of Dayton took a moment to recognize the achievement of one of its interns during the Monday night city council meeting.

Kaci Martin, the daughter of Billy and Tracy Martin of Dayton and a senior at Dayton High School, was recognized for earning an honorable mention in the Southwest Region of the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers’ annual competition.

Her work, titled “Overshadowed,” was created using graphite and colored pencils.

“This was submitted by one of her teachers in a national competition,” City Manager Theo Melancon explained, standing alongside Martin. The contest garnered more than 321,000 entries with Martin’s being picked for honorable mention.

“I want to take a moment to highlight her and give her congratulations for all her hard work,” he said.

Martin worked as an intern over the summer of 2020 in the City’s Marketing and Communications department. When the internship ended, she continued on with the City as an employee.

“She is helping with our fiber project quite a bit. She is part of the kickoff for our marketing strategy,” he said.

Mayor Caroline Wadzeck called Martin’s work “amazing” and told Melancon the City needs to find other areas where she can fully use her artistic talents.

Martin will graduate this summer from Dayton High School. A dual credit student at Lee College, she is finishing high school with 45 college credits to apply toward an associate degree.

Her mother, Tracy, said Kaci plans to finish up her degree at Lee College in Baytown before she decides on a four-year degree program. In the meantime, she will keep working for the City while attending college.