Tri-Valley senior uses math and science struggles to inform her passion for art

Editor's Note: The Times Recorder is profiling seniors from area high schools in Muskingum County coinciding with graduations. They were nominated by school administrators.

DRESDEN − You can tell right away that 18-year-old Ada Lorenz is wise beyond her years as she talks about her lifelong struggle with math and science.“There have been a lot of tears with math and science,” said the future art teacher who’s headed to Kent State University this fall to major in art education. “They are areas I’ve had to push through and overcome. But we all have to do the things we don’t like to do, in order to do the things we love to do. And I don’t think I could have gotten to where I’m at without the classes I had to power through.”Indeed, when Lorenz crosses the stage on May 24 and receives her high school diploma, it will be a hard-fought win. One that she says influenced her art more than she initially realized.

“You need math to do art,” said the lifelong Girl Scout. “Measurements and geometry all come from understanding math. So, I always thought about (my math studies) as ‘This might be helpful in the future for my art studies.’”She laughed that math word problems also sometimes needed a doodle or two to complete them — which helped her focus on the ultimate outcome, art.“Science is also important to art,” she continued. “Different mediums of art include chemistry and science. So, you can think about it in that way, too. A lot of subjects include all the other subjects mixed together. So, I always focused on that positive outcome. That if I could just get through the tough things, I could get to the things I loved faster.“Art is my passion.”She gets it honestly. According to Lorenz, both her parents attended college for art, so she’s grown up around it. And now she’s working on honing her artistic voice in some of her favorite mediums including ceramics, murals, and drawings/doodles.“A lot of artists say that they have deep meaning in what they create. But a lot of my art is just because I like it. And it’s fun. And it makes people happy,” said Lorenz, who is also a drama club member. “That’s what matters the most to me. Using art to make people smile. That’s all art really needs to be.”Lorenz’s art teacher Robert Spillman, who’s been teaching at Tri-Valley High School for nine years, said making people happy is her thing.“She is just a genuinely good person and that’s why her artwork is the way it is,” said Spillman. “It’s always bright, colorful, and fun.”He said she’s also a hard worker.“She never stops trying to perfect her craft and her style, and how she likes to express herself though her artwork,” said Spillman. “She’s a good and fun person and that shows right through in her artwork.”Lorenz, whose been part of two youth groups since childhood, said it was easy to find her voice in Spillman’s class.“He never shut down my ideas,” she said. “He gave me permission to do the first ever mural in his classroom, which really sparked my joy for doing murals. He just let me run wild with it. He gives you a project and lets you do your own interpretation on it. That really allowed me to thrive in that environment and hone my crazy, wild style.”Lorenz said that’s not an unusual trait to find in Tri-Valley teachers.“A lot of the Tri-Valley math teachers are great at providing opportunities to help you get better and they offered me help I needed outside of class and in class, which helped me pass,” said Lorenz. “All of the teachers are great at helping you if you’re struggling. The students, too. I was able to get a lot of help from fellow students in a different way.”Spillman said it’s the Tri-Valley way.“So many people here go that extra mile to help these kids,” he said of teachers who stay late and work over to make sure kids succeed. “The kids are also great. There’s a lot of peer support here. It’s a good family-type environment.”Enough of a family that Lorenz is attending Kent State, and rooming with her best friend from high school. Spillman believes the experience will lead Lorenz to success.“She’ll do great in college,” he said. “And I think she’ll be a tremendous teacher. She wants to do elementary age students, and I think they’ll absolutely love her fun and quirky style.”But to those she’s leaving at Tri-Valley, she has one last parting thought: “Your future can be whatever you want it to be. Don’t focus on the things that are challenging to overcome. Just remember that all of it helps you get to that grand plan of your future and how you want to shape it."