Published May 7th, 2026
BY DANIELA FOLEY
Whether it be through song, video game art, filmmaking or pottery, multiple Carmel High School seniors hope to achieve a future career in the arts, pushing boundaries and expectations.
“When we are kids, we say ‘I want to be an artist’ or ‘I want to be a singer’ because at this point in our lives, anything is possible,” says Lila Glazier, who discovered her passion in fourth grade choir. “More of us need to hold on to these dream because I’m learning there are so many ways to continue doing the things you love.”
For Lila Glazier, her love for music and performing arts made her choice to major in Vocal Performance clear. courtesy of LILA GLAZIER
For Glazier, who intends on majoring in Vocal Performance at Chapman University, opportunities at CHS, such as Chamber Choir, led her to discover her need to keep both of her passions in her life.
“Being in Chamber Choir forced me to be present with the repertoire and the singers around me as many of our pieces were a capella, meaning every second we had to be looking at each other for cutoffs and breaths, making me emotionally connect with my fellow singers and be present in a way that I had never been before,” says the singer. “After our last concert my parents said to me, ‘You look so happy when you’re performing. We don’t know why you wouldn’t try to keep doing this for the rest of your life.’ In that moment, I knew they were right.”
Claire Ficarra, who plans on becoming an art teacher, has spent her time in high school developing skills essential to her future plans. photo by DANIELA FOLEY
Also discovering her dream of becoming an artist through local educational opportunities, Claire Ficarra took a class at Monterey Peninsula College and found that the creation of pottery was what inspired her. Coming from generations of teachers, Ficarra has always known she wanted to teach and is now pursuing a connection of passions.
“The question was always ‘Teach what?’ and I realized there was this thing I’m passionate about that I love, and I could spend a long time doing,” says Ficarra. “Art is a stigmatized path to go on, but doing something that you love is more important than doing something convenient.”
Pursuing another form of art, Averil Mabry will be attending University of California, Santa Cruz. For Mabry, majoring in Game Designs is her opportunity to create concept art for video games.
For Averil Mabry, performing onstage has inspired her to continue working in the arts as a career. photo by AVA CASSADY
“I love acting because I love storytelling, drawing is my way of creating, I love playing games because of the storytelling element, so I’m just excited to bring my own ideas to life,” says Mabry. “I would encourage underclassmen that are considering pursuing art to do it, and I am so grateful to be pursuing a career that makes me so happy and inspired.”
Expressing creativity in another art form, Ember Franklin Brunton will be attending MPC before transferring to California State University, Long Beach, to study film. Discovering his passion after joining Video Production on campus, Franklin Brunton was led to opportunities otherwise unfathomable.
“I traveled to Florida for the Student Television Network competition with the class and New York for a film festival called All American, where my coming-of-age film was shown,” says the creator. “I want to act in films and be perceived in films, but I want to help make them happen and there’s a lot of work to be done in a movie.”
Adam Angel, pursuing a future in film and art, has also been involved in theater throughout high school. photo by AVA CASSADY
Similarly pursuing film with hopes of becoming a director, Adam Angel has a love for music, having independently published two singles. Hoping to continue his film and music career, Angel will be taking classes part-time at California State University, Monterey Bay majoring in Cinematic Arts, while working in the film industry and travelling to Los Angeles to expand his network and experience.
“Art is one of the foundational elements of being a human, so the more artists there are, the more people there are to build this sense of interconnectedness of humanity,” says the filmmaker and musician. “Creating art is what I’m passionate about, what drives me, what I’ve always wanted to do, and I see myself doing this for the rest of my life.”
