by Alexis Castañon & Allyson Murillo
Tiella Ward, a middle school student at Launch Virtual Academy, has won the San Diego Festival of Science & Engineering 2023 STEAM T-Shirt Contest.
For Tiella, this was an opportunity to take inspiration from her favorite anime art styles and blend them with her own.
She first heard about the contest through her science teacher Dr. Milena Aubry.
Tiella’s mom attributes a big part of her daughter’s success to the freedom and flexibility that her school schedule provides.
“We travel a lot, and that allows her to find more inspiration,” her mom said.
“Thanks to Launch she is able to spend more time focusing on her hobbies,” she added.
“It’s pretty awesome. The teachers are super nice, and I have more time to draw!,” Tiella said.
Tiella describes the process of creating her design as a process of trial and error. Tiella says that she occasionally struggled with finding the right motivation during the artistic process but found the confidence to persevere in her mom and her cousin.
“Just keep going! Just keep swimming! I kept telling her,” her mom said.
Tiella’s mom describes Tiella being interested in art at a very young age.
“She’s been drawing since she’s been able to hold a pencil. She learned how to write her name when she was two, and since then has been drawing and doodling”, she said.
Tiella’s goal is to become an animator.
Knowing that the t-shirt will be worn by hundreds of people and has the potential to inspire others brings her great excitement and joy.
“I felt ecstatic and happy that I won”, she said.
Tiella’s advice for those pursuing the arts is to never compare themselves to other artist but instead follow their passion and the things that bring them joy.
“Don’t give up on your dreams. It doesn’t matter what people say, and continue going forward,” says Tiella.
The San Diego Science Festival returns to Petco Park on March 4th from 10am-5pm.
For more information please visit: https://www.lovestemsd.org/
