The contest which is organized by The Kurt and Tessye Simon Fund for Holocaust Remembrance it invites students to engage with the stories of Holocaust survivors from the South Bend community and express their reflections through art, poetry, or prose. This year’s exhibition and awards ceremony took place on April 23, 2025, at the downtown Mishawaka Library. The public exhibition runs from April 24 to April 30, 2025, showcasing the students’ works inspired by the personal narratives of local Holocaust survivors.

​Saint Joseph High School students achieved notable success in the 2025 “The People Next Door: Witnessing the Holocaust” student art and creative writing contest. Their contributions were among those of 22 high school students from the Michiana area recognized at the exhibition hosted by the Mishawaka-Penn-Harris Public Library. The winners were Gabi Braden who  earned first place, Emillianno Alvarez-Garcia who came in second place and Pelayo Muniz  in third place.