Embrace It

By Claudia Sanchez-Jean

When creating this piece, I wanted to embrace a little piece of cultural diversity in the U.S., but also show that historically, diversity hasn’t been welcome here. The piece is a reminder that just because we get along better now, there are still societal problems that aren’t solved.

Meet the Pair

MENTEE CLAUDIA SANCHEZ-JEAN & MENTOR SARAH GRUEN

Claudia’s Anecdote: Sarah is a lot of things: giving, understanding, uplifting, and good at making banana bread. Every time we meet she becomes more and more relatable and pertinent to my everyday life. She was a break in my schedule that I very much needed. It’s not that she only edited my work and told me what to fix but she showed me my strengths that I did not see and improved my expression more than my words.

Sarah’s Anecdote: Not many sixteen-year-olds would spend their Saturday evening accompanying their far less cool twenty-five-year-old friend to see Little Women. Even fewer would join said friend in crying through the whole movie. And fewer still would openly and proudly admit to doing so. Then again, Claudia isn’t your average sixteen-year-old. An immensely talented artist (and little sister), Claudia proudly declared herself an Amy. But the truth is, I see something of each of the Little Women in Claudia: Along with Amy’s ambition and skill, she has Meg’s kindness and Beth’s compassion, plus a whole lot of Jo March–esque humor, drive, creativity, and, of course, writing prowess. Look out world: With her art, her stories, and everything else she does, this (not so little) woman is going to make history.