Rylan Holley is a national honoree at the Digital Arts Festival

An Albany teen's website about the Great Barrier Reef has won a national contest and earned him a free trip to Atlanta this summer.

Rylan Holley, 14, competed in the Club Tech Digital Arts Festival through the Boys & Girls Club of Albany. Holley, a West Albany High School freshman, won local and regional awards for his work within the theme, "The Nature of Design," and learned earlier this month he had been named a national winner.

"I was very surprised," Holley said. "I guess the site looked pretty cool."

The competition encourages Boys & Girls Club members to combine art with the technology skills they learn through their clubs' Club Tech programs.

More than 1,200 entries covering five categories - photo illustration, music production, web design, filmmaking and graphic design - were submitted to the contest.

Holley's challenge was to design and develop a website about one of the Seven Wonders of the Natural World. His two-page site combines aquatic photography with the history and background of the Great Barrier Reef.

"It's in Australia, and I've always wanted to go there," Holley explained.

Holley developed his own logo and researched all the content.

"You don't want too much stuff" on a competition website, he said. "You want viewers to see, 'Oh, this is interesting,' not just be overwhelmed with how crazy the site is."

For his win, Holley received a plaque, a Zune mp3 player and the July trip to Atlanta. Organizers said he and other winners will have the opportunity to experience first-hand career opportunities that lie ahead through behind-the-scenes tours of various venues.

Sponsored by Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Microsoft and Best Buy Children's Foundation, the Club Tech Digital Arts Festival is meant to provide youth with essential digital literacy skills they will need for future jobs.

A link to Holley's site can be found in the "Club Tech" section of the Boys & Girls Club of Albany website, www.bgc-albany.org. For

more information on the contest, visit www.bgca.org/digitalart.