Phones lighting up against their face, the students enjoying their free time, talking with their friends, and the chatter of young students awaiting the final bell to conclude their day. Wood clattering against the table, her own brushes delicately gliding their way through her sketches on the hollow wall. Mia Felipe is here to leave a jaw-dropping imprint in Academic Village Middle school for all to remember. “I was motivated to leave my own mark on the school for others to enjoy,” she says.

   Throughout her artistic journey, she gives her greatest thanks to her older brother. “He would do little drawing competitions with me as we drew together,” which over the years, brought out her artistic side and developed the art skills she has today. With the competitions against her older brother, her competitive side kept improving her skills throughout the years and is what brought her to today. She’s a completely self taught artist who has spread her works throughout Academic Village.

   Now in the school environment, Mia Felipe says she began building her “artist reputation by doodling on white boards in class.” After her middle school English teacher Ms. Carson kept one on display even after entering into high school, Mia was asked by Ms. Carson to paint her very first mural inside her classroom.

   Despite its lengthy process, it turned a dream into reality. At the end of her freshman year she completed her first mural. Mia dedicated her time throughout the process, revealing it took her “about one hour of sketching, and the next day I came and painted for about two hours.” After all of this, there is still one part that intrigues her the most. Watching as “your ideas and concepts are transferred into real life,” and stepping away admiring the work simple hands and fingers can create is, in her opinion, the most enchanting part of drawing of all. 

   Receiving compliments of her completed work from teachers and administration brings her the most joy and satisfaction. Seeing her final product complete on the wall of her class catches the eyes of many, leaving her own imprint inside the middle school. Now with her first mural completed inside of Ms. Carson classroom, Mia’s one step further along her artistic journey.

   Yet Mia’s final imprint in the school is far from over, she says, as “the next time I come to visit I have a request for another!” With such love and admiration from her work from administrators, her artistic abilities are needed once more for the middle school office to yet again, paint another mural. Running across the forest, another jaguar is bound to come alive from the woods and land in AVM’s new office; and within time, it’ll become her next big project. 

   Her journey to where she is now has been long but rewarding, and she’s ready to leave her eternal mark on the school for the second time in her sophomore year. Beginning with her brother, and now adventuring on to murals that will be awed at for years, Mia Felipe’s adventure is far from over– wherever the brush may take her.