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Orange County high school Artist of the Year 2025: Media arts semifinalists

April 20, 2025

The following 16 students have been named as semifinalists for the 2025 Artist of the Year in media arts out of 102 nominees. The students were chosen by a panel of teachers based on written statements and art portfolios.

Students are placed into divisions based on the number of years they have been studying media arts. Students with a combination of three years of media art training in middle school, high school and private training are placed into Division 1. Students with less than three years of combined training are placed into Division 2. A minimum of two Division 2 students are guaranteed to be invited to be semifinalists.

During the final round of adjudication, students are interviewed by a panel of distinguished artistic professionals and faculty members from Southern California colleges. Interviews include a live presentation by the student followed by a conversation with the student.

Five top students will be chosen in each discipline — four finalists plus the Artist of the Year. The finalists and Artists of the Year will be announced next Sunday, April 27 online and in print in a special section of The Orange County Register.

On Wednesday, May 7, an awards celebration will be held at Memorial Hall on the campus of Chapman University and is free and open to the public. This event will include performances and presentations by the top students.

This program is generously sponsored by the Chapman University College of Performing Arts and Segerstrom Center for the Arts. Additional support is provided by Arts Orange County and individual donors.

If you would like to support Artist of the Year with a donation, you can contribute here. Donations will be made to Arts Orange County on behalf of Artist of the Year.

If you are interested in helping Artist of the Year grow by becoming a sponsor of this program, send an email to [email protected].

Alyssa Abernethy, senior, El Dorado High School

Division 1

Alyssa Abernethy of Placentia, a senior studying at El Dorado High School, is a media arts semifinalist for Artist of the Year in 2025. (Photo courtesy of Joanne Abernethy)

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“The years I have spent studying graphic design and digital illustration have truly changed the way I see the world. Recognizing the world for the inherently artistic and design-driven place that it is has given me a great appreciation for both the graphic design work that I do for my clients and the aesthetic value of my everyday surroundings. The most fulfilling experience in my design journey so far has been the opportunity to create designs for local clients, such as logos, flyers, branding, and even a set of Boy Scouts patches featuring various mythical creatures.”

Shiloh Ahrens, junior, Beckman High School

Division 1

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“I love looking at one room and seeing all the beautiful moments that can be shot and all the unnoticed corners that are radiant in their stillness. What I do is create, capture, and build scenes. Most importantly, though art is a universal language, anyone from any background can look and see meaning in a piece of art. So as an artist, I strive to tell stories with my pictures, to capture reality, ideas, and dreams in the purest form.”

Ella Arevalos, senior, Valencia High School

Division 1

Ella Arevalos of Anaheim, a senior studying at Valencia High School, is a media arts semifinalist for Artist of the Year in 2025. (Photo courtesy of Ella Arevalos)

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“As an artist, I strive to bring a unique perspective to the world, capturing moments that might otherwise go unnoticed. I want to inspire others, just as those before me have inspired me, by preserving fleeting instances, incredible events, and staged compositions, and everything in between. My goal is to reveal the hidden artistry in everyday life — photographing subjects that others might overlook and showcase their depth, beauty and meaning.”

Yu-Ru Chen, senior, Beckman High School

Division 1

Yu-Ru Chen of Irvine, a senior studying at Beckman High School, is a media arts semifinalist for Artist of the Year in 2025. (Photo courtesy of Audrey Brown)

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“My involvement in media arts goes beyond the digital designs when I create social media advertisements for clubs and organizations or self-learning motion design. I turn visions into reality through creative problem solving, especially when it comes to product design. … I often seek new ways to diversify my creative process, and in doing so I connect with other artists, leading to new opportunities to collaborate and share expertise with more people. I believe in looking at this world with hope and curiosity, thus I will always be pushing myself to learn beyond my current scope of knowledge.”

Ash Chiou, senior, Orange County School of the Arts

Division 1

Ash Chiou of Irvine, a senior studying at Orange County School of the Arts, is a media arts semifinalist for Artist of the Year in 2025. (Photo courtesy of Audrey Chiou)

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“My time at California State Summer School of the Arts was full of rigorous pre-professional courses on visual development, extensive lectures on the history of animation, and most importantly, interdisciplinary collaboration opportunities. I got to share dorms with people from the dance conservatories, attend screenings from the film program students, enjoy performances from the musical theater troupes, and fall into the groove of the jazz music played by the band kids. I learned that storytelling was the core of all art forms, and the essence of one’s life was meant to be shared.”

Jasmine Diep, senior, Orange County School of the Arts

Division 1

Jasmine Diep of Walnut, a senior studying at Orange County School of the Arts, is a media arts semifinalist for Artist of the Year in 2025. (Photo courtesy of Anneliese Diep)

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“As an animator and illustrative story teller, I believe the job of the artist, and by extension what it means to be an artist, is to showcase humanity through a creative lens. What I mean by that is, art is a lot about allegories, and connections between what is seen on the art piece and what the artist is trying to convey. … I feel that as an artist, it’s our job to capture and remember the complexities with human relationships through our medium.”

K. R. D-B, senior, La Habra High School

Division 1

K. R. D-B of Whittier, a senior studying at La Habra High School, is a media arts semifinalist for Artist of the Year in 2025. (Photo courtesy of David Edwards)

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“With the simple click of a button, my vivid and illusive tapestry is then strung together with the yarn of my passion and precision. As much as I love to bring the murals in my sea of an imagination up for air, it is not my muse. Rather, my photos are the choir of the mute, the ones who feel their words and emotions have been suppressed or stolen. It is a personal project of my treacherous journey to self-healing that I share with others; I make myself the glowing beacon of hope in a tavern masked by the darkness of despair and isolation.”

Kailey Grandes, senior, Beckman High School

Division 1

Kailey Grandes of Irvine, a senior studying at Beckman High School, is a media arts semifinalist for Artist of the Year in 2025. (Photo courtesy of Zoey Grandes)

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“For about three years now, I have been working to improve and discover my own style of photography. It’s been a little over a decade since I first started swimming, but I believe this is a significant inspiration for my photography. The way the water flows, splashes, and envelopes me when I swim invokes so many different emotions within me. With photography, I try to simulate these same feelings of peacefulness and beauty in shots of our world.”

Leah Ariana Hernandez, senior, Orange High School

Division 2

Leah Ariana Hernandez of Orange, a senior studying at Orange High School, is a media arts semifinalist for Artist of the Year in 2025. (Photo courtesy of Leah Ariana Hernandez)

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“What I really want to do as an artist is connect people with main characters and make a world that other others can build with me or theorize with me. I want to impact the world of pop culture with a character very famous. The best examples I can really think of at the moment are Mickey Mouse and Hello Kitty. I want to establish a recognizable character that everyone can tell who it is. I wish to make a character that people can find comfort in get away from the harsh world and just collect and enjoy a single character just because you like them. I look forward to being the new underdog amongst the mascot franchises.”

Joseph Jimenez, junior, La Habra High School

Division 1

Joseph Jimenez of La Habra, a junior studying at La Habra High School, is a media arts semifinalist for Artist of the Year in 2025. (Photo courtesy of David Edwards)

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“I want to learn a lot of different types of mediums such as 3D sculpting, printmaking, and collaging and just as many as I can learn, not only because I’m very interested in learning more mediums but because I just like learning in general. I also think learning more mediums would assist me in conveying my ideas because whilst I do love photography at times it can be limiting which whilst it does of course lead to creativity it would still be useful to have those skills in my tool belt to take my works to the next level.”

Jennifer (Doyeon) Kim, senior, Orange County School of the Arts

Division 1

Jennifer (Doyeon) Kim of Tustin, a senior studying at Orange County School of the Arts, is a media arts semifinalist for Artist of the Year in 2025. (Photo courtesy of Misook Jung)

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“To be an artist is to disrupt monologue for dialogue. As a product designer, I find the most joy when engaging in this step of the design process: collaborating and interviewing users to impartially identify a gap for a solution. I heavily emphasize centering perspectives through design, adopting the philosophy of designing not for them but with. To do this, I’ve learned, dialogue is needed for greater understanding and connection which further lends to embracing empathy and flexibility to deliver human centered design as an artist.”

Kirsten Kim, senior, Beckman High School

Division 1

Kirsten Kim of Tustin, a senior studying at Beckman High School, is a media arts semifinalist for Artist of the Year in 2025. (Photo courtesy of Kirsten Kim)

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“Looking ahead, I want to be involved in UI/UX (user interface/user experience) and do freelancing on the side. I know I want to do something graphic design related, but I worry about the stability of it. To an extent, I like UI/UX because of how analytical it can be, as I have a love for science as much as art, but I know I will want more creativity. To satisfy that creative kick, I want to freelance doing more creative things such as logos.”

Davyn Lee, senior, Portola High School

Division 1

Davyn Lee of Irvine, a senior studying at Portola High School, is a media arts semifinalist for Artist of the Year in 2025. (Photo courtesy of Davyn Lee)

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“I want to work as a concept artist, either character or environmental, helping to visualize a story before implementing it into a media that people can view or interact with. I want to become famous for doing something unique — and inspiring many others to do the same — up to the point where people can recognize my abstract signature as being from me. Eventually, I want to make my own art studio up for hire amongst the largest entertainment industries, specializing in creating games, series or films.”

Keven Morales, junior, Buena Park High School

Division 2

Keven Morales of fullerton, a junior studying at Buena Park High School, is a media arts semifinalist for Artist of the Year in 2025. (Photo courtesy of Keven Morales)

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“At the moment, being an artist is the most important thing to me. I thrive every day by getting 1% better at doing sports photography. If I am going to sleep at three in the morning to find a unique angle or a different way to edit a picture, I will do it. I wish I could say being an artist is easy, but it’s not and that’s the fun part about it. There is always a problem to solve. I’ve never pushed myself harder in life by trying to be the best.”

Valerie Truc-Mai Nguyen, senior, Orange County School of the Arts

Division 1

Valerie Truc-Mai Nguyen of Lake Forest, a senior studying at Orange County School of the Arts, is a media arts semifinalist for Artist of the Year in 2025. (Photo courtesy of Valerie Truc-Mai Nguyen)

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“I compare being an artist to being in a relationship. Swiping paint across a canvas requires determination, thought, intention, and, most importantly, love — similar to loving another person. Additionally, it’s like having a conversation with the canvas, experiencing the creative flow that comes from genuine enjoyment rather than trying to bend it to your will. There’s a promise to stay true to what you stand for, and in return, art provides the incredible opportunity to express what words cannot describe.”

Rushil V. Patel, junior, Beckman High School

Division 1

Rushil V. Patel of Tustin, a junior studying at Beckman High School, is a media arts semifinalist for Artist of the Year in 2025. (Photo courtesy of Jay Parmar)

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“I am driven by the relentless pursuit of uniqueness. My work must be something I can point to and proudly say, ‘I created that.’ As a perfectionist any imbalance or imperfection feels like an overwhelming failure. I cannot settle for ‘getting it done.’ Anyone who knows me will tell you: I will always sit down and think. Think about what I need to do, what I can try, and what I can do differently. I am a mad scientist in the studio — constantly questioning, never satisfied with repetition.”

Orange County high school Artist of the Year 2025: Media arts semifinalists Orange County Register

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