By: Octavio Garcia
Written: October 24th, 2023
Samah Mardan was chosen for this spotlight because of her artistic contributions to the Grant community through her sophisticated work submitted to the art festivals. Samah is also involved in several clubs throughout campus!
Tell us your name, your grade, and how long you have been attending Grant.
My name is Samah Mardan, also known as Sam by my friends. I am in 12th Grade and I am a student of the CPDA Magnet. I have been attending Grant for 4 years.
What are you involved in on campus? (Think about leadership roles, ASB, athletics, and clubs; tell us everything you are involved in or passionate about!)
I have been involved in many artistic and creative clubs and activities on Grant’s campus. I am an active member of the Creative Design Club and Film Club. I have also won many awards from the activities I have participated in. I won under the 3D Art category in the Winter Film/Art Festival in 2022 and won under the Traditional Art category in the Spring Film/Art Festival in 2023. I have also won the Forestry Challenge in 2022. I am also planning on participating in the upcoming Winter and Spring Film/Art Festival.
How did you begin to get involved on campus?
I got involved through my own creativity and interest in art. This originally started with simple gifts of paintings for my favorite teachers who then recommended me to join the Film/Art Festivals. I was also invited to attend the Forestry Challenge by Ms. Kim as she believed that I would do a good job.
What do you love about Grant the most?
I think I love the teachers here because they are all very kind and have created opportunities for students to pursue their interests. They’re also always there to support, whether it be academic, moral, or mental.
Who inspires you to be the best version of yourself? (family member, teacher, coach, friend?)
The people that inspire me to be the best version of myself are my family and friends. My family has understood that I am not the best at academic work but still supports me in my interest in art. One of my family members who really supports me is my sister. She inspires me to do my best and acts as a role model. My sister encourages me to continue exploring my passion for art by buying me art supplies so I can continue drawing and painting art pieces. My friend Erick is also someone who supports me since he encourages my ideas and expresses a critical reception of my art.
What are your future goals and aspirations? (high school and beyond.)
I aspire to be an animator one day. This aspiration came from my love for anime as the simple yet detailed drawings allow me to feel so many emotions at once and can change in the blink of an eye. I also aspire to make my hobby of drawing and creating art into my living. I’ve never been the type of person to work on a computer for hours at a time. I have always enjoyed art and it would be a dream to make it my job.
What advice would you give to a younger Lancer?
Some advice I would give to a younger Lancer would be to not limit yourself to what you already like. Exploring different options and interests is never a bad thing and you may end up liking something you may not have thought about. To build onto this, I would also recommend finding clubs that interest you and try not to be intimidated by the size of the club. Every club on Grant’s campus has some sort of community built in them whether the club has six members or sixty. I always say to go beyond, plus ultra, and try to live by it.
Bonus Question: What is your favorite art piece?
My favorite art piece is a piece that showcases the heroes and villains of the anime show Demon Slayer. This is my favorite art piece as it was the hardest one to complete and took me around 64 hours due to the complexity of the piece. It was also the one that won the Spring Art Festival of 2023 so it has a special place in my heart.
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