La is Acknowledged for Achievements in Art

Written by Trenae Alexander, Staff Writer

With the upcoming Centennial dinner approaching, the district is offering a t-shirt to anyone who wants to order one. As an added benefit, whoever wears the shirt Feb. 4, the 100th day of school, will get discounts at many popular restaurants such as free wings at Buffalo Wild Wings, a free dessert shooter at Applebees, a free gift card at Spring Creek, and much more but the shirt is significant in another way too. Senior Murphy La, whose art work has graced the walls of many teacher’s classrooms and was in several issues of the Jagwire, designed the artwork on the front of the t-shirt, making it one of La’s many achievements.

La has received many awards for his art, such as being a finalist in the Drive A Clean Machine logo sponsored by the committee of natural resources in 2008 and a gold medal at the Region 2 South Visual Arts Scholastic Event in 2009.

“A memory that stuck with me was being in pre-K and the teacher threw away my artwork because I was supposed to be learning math but when my parents came to pick me up, I tried to sneak over to the trash can and get the drawing,” La said.

“I think that his artwork is really creative and original and I believe that he has infinite potential as an artist,” art teacher Jennifer Demick said.

She taught Murphy in Art 1, Pre AP Art 2, and AP Art Drawing Portfolio and is greatly impressed by the work that he turned in all three years. To have a student from Summit design the shirt, despite it being a district shirt, is a great honor to Murphy and to Summit High School.

“This is an example of the many talents of our students,” Associate Principal Todd Taylor said. “We’re proud of the fact that our Jaguars excel in all areas, and Murphy La is a perfect example of that.”

With all his awards and achievements, La was contacted by the school board and asked to draw something appropriate for the centennial celebration.

“Standing back, I had to see what the logo had to represent,” Murphy La said. “In this case, it is the history of MISD. So I started off with simple school supplies of the past and blended it with current school supplies. I had a slide ruler blended with a TI-84 calculator and an old feather pen and a modern pen side by side. The golden ring represents the continuing cycle of learning and teaching. I used limited colors to keep it simple and clean.”

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