Hailey Rolon, a junior Studio Art major, with a minor in Creative Writing who came to MCLA to “be full-force creative. All I want to do is make things and show them to the world.”

When asked about her journey at MCLA, Rolon stated, “I started coming here in 2020, peak COVID time. It was very strange being here because we were all very separated, but the Art students still had a studio space. It helped us connect through our art and our visuals, in a time where we were mostly disconnected. We all bonded through our solitude.” She chose this college after there was a table at her high school. When she asked about the art program, she was overwhelmed with excitement about it. Rolon said, after she began attending and seeing for herself, “I found it to be a wonderful program. There’s so much support from your peers, and with your professors. Everyone wants you to succeed, and you develop these close bonds.”

Rolon was an artist from a very young age. “The first years that I can remember, I had crayons in my hand. It was the first thing I felt drawn to and that I felt good at.”

One of Rolon’s first art teachers set her up for success. She had Rolon paint large canvases with a giraffe and a crocodile, to be put on the walls of a children’s hospital. It seems like art runs in her blood also, as her aunt is an “artist of sorts”, and her support flowed through her. “Without my family’s support, especially my moms, I wouldn’t be here doing these things. I probably would’ve gone down a field that I hated. But because I had that support coming into the arts, I got to do what I really wanted.”

Rolon loves to illustrate, and it is her preferred media of choice. Right now, she is delving into the “digital art” platform for which she uses Clip Studio Paint, a professional program. She also enjoys the more “old fashioned” ways of drawing, like ink and pens. “Right now, I am really into character design. That’s what my studio art lab focus is right now. I’m doing a bunch of [character design] like humanoid insects. It’s a really fun challenge.”

After Rolon graduates, she plans to look into graduate schools, and higher education in general. “I don’t want to stop being a student. I want to keep honing my skills, build portfolios, etc.” Once her schooling is finished, Rolon hopes that her artistic endeavors lead her into a crew for game design, storyboard illustrations, or “just anywhere I can get my hands into!”

Be sure to check out her Instagram for artwork: @drakdraws