Utah-based high school student, Len Parker, has been creating since she was old enough to hold a marker. Len is passionate about brightening the world around her through all kinds of creative expression. During the 2021 Unified Sports Soccer Championship, she presented one of her artworks to First Lady Abby Cox of Utah, which now hangs in the First Lady’s office. Len was elected by her peers as Hillcrest High School’s official Student Body Artist, creating huge murals, event marketing, and school spirit around the high school halls. As past president of the Careers Club, she invited many local artisans and business owners to share stories of their successes and failures. Staff at the high school have commissioned her to create custom portraits and a large wall mural to adorn their homes. Len has attended Pre-college in-residence summer programs at both Rhode Island School of Design, the top art school in the country, and California College of the Arts in San Francisco.
Len also plays the accordion in her free time.
Leadership Activities:
Responsibilities: I am responsible for organizing the creation of posters, designing Hillcrest merchandise, and creating a few large murals in the lunch room each quarter. I also help out other members of the student government team when needed.
Responsibilities: as professional advisor, I managed relationships with professional artists and organized guest speakers. As Vice President, I help manage the presidency, organize meetings, and general preparation for the club.
Responsibilities: Through this program, I attend leadership activities and participate in competitions.
Responsibilities: Attending meetings and organizing fundraising events. I also contact local companies to solicit corporate sponsorships of our Chinese New Year event.
Responsibilities: As president and vice president, I help run the meetings, lead networking events, participate in service opportunities, and generally help where needed.
Responsibilities: Through this program, I attend district-wide student meetings to learn leadership skills to better help with the community and culture within Hillcrest.
Responsibilities: The teen advisory board assists the library activities and provides guidance about the interest of teens within the community.
Volunteer / Community Service:
Position: President (11th grade), Vice President (12th grade)
Responsibilities: Through this club, I have done a wide variety of services, ranging from helping with middle school career days to volunteering at the elderly home, and participating in the Hillcrest job fair.
Grade Participation: 10th, 11th, and 12th grades
Time Commitment: 100+ hours
Responsibilities: The teen advisory board meets once a month to discuss upcoming events. At these events members volunteer their time to help organize, set up, and run whatever it is the library may be hosting.
Grade Participation: 10th and 11th grades
Time Commitment: 3 hours per month, plus events
Responsibilities: NHS is a selected group of students, chosen by GPA, who participate in a service-oriented club.
Grade Participation: 9th grade
Time Commitment: 40 hours
Position: Vice President (12th grade), Professional Advisor (11th grade)
Responsibilities: Art Committee created various artworks for Hillcrest’s respective club. These works were typically 5’x5’ or more and required a team to create.
Grade Participation: 10th, 11th, and 12th grades
Time Commitment: 30 hours
Responsibilities: I was one of 20 student artists selected to create a chalk mural for the Unified Sports tournament at Real Salt Lake Stadium. Due to unpredicted weather, I was the only artist to follow through and have my art displayed. Read about my experience here.
Grade Participation: 10th grade
Time Commitment: 6 hours
Responsibilities: In 2022, I led a team of three students to design and create a mural for the Habitat for Humanity door project. We took inspiration from the tree of life and got the students involved by answering the question: what is home to you?
Grade Participation: 10th grade
Time Commitment: 10 hours
