Students from two West Virginia high schools are exploring the unsung heroes across history and their communities.
WHO IS YOUR HERO? How would you mold clay to embody their accomplishments? What colors of acrylic would you use to paint their ethos? Or would you choose oil pastels? Crayons, even? What medium suits their spirit?
Nearly 200 West Virginia high school students have pondered these questions through the 2024–25 ARTEFFECT Ambassadors program, a nationwide fellowship rooted in art, history, and education. The second annual cohort comprises 34 fellows from 21 states—including two West Virginia art teachers. Michele Rodich at Preston High School in Kingwood and Mindy Ray Sizemore at Spring Mills High School in Martinsburg are guiding students in projects inspired by figures from the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes. Both emphasize student-led creativity and community impact—but no art classroom is complete without a personal splash of color.
Rodich’s classes have chosen to exercise their favorite mediums or experiment with new styles, pushing artistic boundaries and echoing the heroes they’ve studied. For their creative drive, Rodich is encouraging students to submit their work to the ARTEFFECT Student Art Competition. “I want them to know that, even though we are a small, rural high school, there is a lot of talent and they are very capable students,” she says. She plans to spotlight their work at Preston County Schools’ Fine Arts Festival on April 4, 2025.
Sizemore’s students selected an unsung hero as inspiration for a clay piece and a 2D artwork in their chosen medium. In an interactive knitting session—a skill Sizemore teaches each semester—students will present their work to a selected community hero, who will then share their own personal hero. The students’ work will culminate in an art show featuring student creations and community interviews. Sizemore’s personal hero? Her mother, a fellow artist. “My hope is for kids to walk away truly understanding that, if you lean into your passions, you can make a difference in your community and the world.”
READ MORE ARTICLES FROM WV LIVING’S SPRING 2025 ISSUE
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