Thousand Oaks boy wins graphic contest




Adam Raudonis

Adam Raudonis


By Lori Porter
Acorn Staff Writer

Eleven-year-old Adam Rau-donis of the Westlake portion of Thousand Oaks recently won first place in a Computer Arts Contest sponsored by the California Association for the Gifted (CAG).


The purpose of the contest, open to California students in sixth to 12th grade, is to encourage creativity and ingenuity, in combining art and technology.


Raudonis, a fifth-grader at Westlake Elementary school, was eager to enter the contest. His mother asked permission for Adam to enter even though he was one grade level below the minimum. CAG obliged due to the fact that many sixth graders are in fact 11 years old.


When asked about his reaction to the news of being first place winner, Raudonis said, "I was speechless." But as soon as he got his speech back, he called all of his friends and family to tell them the news.


The first place prize is $250 which Raudonis plans to use to buy a computer program and a remote control car. He said if he has any money left over, he’ll put it away in a drawer.


Raudonis is interested in all sorts of science and math. Last year for his birthday, he received a gift certificate for Borders Books and he purchased a trigonometry book with it. "You need to know more trig for the more advanced computer 3-D programs," he said. Raudonis explained that he taught himself to work on programs such as Bryce -7, Lightwave, Adobe PhotoShop and Final Cut Pro by reading the manuals.


When Raudonis was in second grade, he produced his first animated film called "Volcano" which appeared in the Pinecrest School Film Festival.


He has created his own computer program for doing math homework. He has also produced his own computer game, "Nuclear Warfare," which was inspired by the movie "War Games" with Matthew Broderick.


He’s a regular kid, he said, who also is a Boy Scout. He enjoys the sport of fencing, Raudonis said. "I am not a geek or anything. My friends look up to me." If anyone does call him a geek or make fun of him, Raudonis said, "Only idiots call me stupid."


The self-confident youngster said he knows where he wants to go to college; Cal Tech or Stanford. He wants to be a scientist or inventor like his favorite historical figure, Thomas Edison.


Raudonis has already mastered memorizing the periodic table and said that he thinks he might even want to work for NASA someday in Mission Control.


He produced his family’s Website by using html language. He said it was difficult to learn so he enlisted the help of a computer teacher. Raudonis explained that html is a computer language and the computer knows when you don’t get it right.


"A computer is a person with his back to you," he said.


He explained that if a computer senses the operator doesn’t know what he’s doing, it will ignore the person.


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