Fremont Ninth-Grader Wins Bookmark Contest

Roujia Guo, a ninth-grader at Mission San Jose High School in Fremont, won first place in the high school division of the Coretta Bookmark Design Contest. (fremontunified.org) Fremont Unified School District announced Guo’s win on April 7, 2026, and said her design beat more than 2,000 submissions in the contest. (fremontunified.org) The district said Guo’s artwork will be professionally printed as bookmarks for Mission San Jose High School, and the school library will receive a $500 Junior Library Guild backlist credit tied to the award. (fremontunified.org) The contest is open to elementary, middle, and high school students, and 2026 entries had to be submitted between January 1 and March 5 by an adult such as a librarian, media specialist, or teacher. (juniorlibraryguild.com) Junior Library Guild said students were asked to create a bookmark design based on a selected title from its catalog, turning a small piece of library art into a reading-promotion project tied directly to books. (juniorlibraryguild.com) In Fremont, the recognition landed at a school known for academics as well as student activities, and the district highlighted the result as a library-centered arts achievement rather than a classroom grade or test score. (https://fremontunified.org/msjhs/; https://fremontunified.org/events/coretta-bookmark-design-contest-mission-san-jose-hs-winner/) Patch’s Fremont edition folded the result into its local arts coverage, reflecting how school-based contests still serve as public recognition for student work even when the prize is a printed bookmark and library credit, not a cash scholarship. (patch.com) For Guo, the prize means her design will move from a contest entry to an object other students can actually use — a piece of art reproduced for readers across her own campus. (fremontunified.org)