Meet the Youth Council Members

JACE

Alliance Charter Academy, Pixel Arts Game Education

Passions:

I’m in love with art and animation. Drawing is a favorite hobby of mine, and when I find the time, I love animating. I also really enjoy astronomy, oceanography, and photography (don’t ever hand me a camera on a nature hike– I will never leave).

Special skill:

I have the ability to fall asleep no matter where I am. I fall asleep on couches, floors, side walks, in trees and once outside of a candy store in Cannon Beach, OR. I also have a skill in being able to eat everything in the kitchen and I use it all the time.

Dream Job:

I want to write animated movies. Or animate them. Or voice in them. Or really anything to do with animated movies! It’s very much a dream of mine to write and direct an animated movie that makes it to theaters.

If I were in a myth:

If I were in a myth, I’d probably be in the Greek myth describing the creation of the star sign Scorpio, the giant scorpion that was sent to kill Orion. Scorpio is the star sign I was born under, so it makes sense to me. Plus, chasing down a total quack like Orion sounds like fun, and I just couldn’t pass up being a giant scorpion.

DENISE

Gresham High School, Multnomah County Library

Dream Job:

My dream job is to become an environmental engineer or an environmental scientists. It connects to my passion for the environment, and after completing a summer internship it has made me want to become an environmental engineer even more than before.

Passions:

Three things I am really passionate about are: music, literature, and the environment. I’ve been involved with music all my life, and I plan to continue with it. Over the years I’ve learned various instruments but the main instrument I play on is the bassoon. Reading has always been a favorite pastime of mine, and it has really helped broaden my horizons and outlook on life. I’ve been volunteering at the library for five years now, and since the fall I’ve been working at the library as an employee which is an amazing experience. Being outdoors is something I really enjoy and it has influenced me to become an environmentalist. I am passionate about saving the environment, and doing what I can to preserve planet Earth.

Snack of choice:

Popcorn! It has always been my go-to snack and it is easy to make. What I love most about it (besides its taste) is that it is easily customized. Caramel corn, cheese corn, buttery corn, and kettle corn.

If I were in a myth:

The myth I would be in would be the one with Icaurs & Daedalus. I’d like to be Daedulus because of his ingenius of craftsmanship in creating the labyrinth and the wings to escape from Crete. I picked this myth because I like how even though it seemed impossible that they would escape, with some intelligence and creativity, it happened. I also like that Icarus flew too close to the sun and fell, which shows what happens to over-ambition.

JOCELYN

Canby High School, Girl Scouts

In my spare time:

Read and write and draw. I also love netflix!

Passions:

I am passionate mostly about art, and world problems.

Dream job:

I don’t have a dream job, I do hope to work in technology.

If I were in a myth:

If I were to be a myth it’d be the one about why the seasons change. I’d be Persephone.

JARREN

Homeschool, Pixel Arts Game Education

Dream Job:

I want to be able to get to the point where I can make money off of my artwork and stories. I know it might not be the most stable job, but hey, I’d be doing what I love.

Passions:

I’m really passionate about the future, and how people can help to make it easier for generations to come! But aside from that I’m also really passionate about my art and writing!

Games of choice:

I don’t have anything specific in mind, but I do want to see more games revolving around interesting gameplay instead of a bunch of dull gritty shoot em ups. A memorable game can be compared to a favorite book, but a cheap and gritty lookalike will only be remembered as such.

If I were in a myth:

I’ve always been fond of the story of Icarus, but maybe it’s just the idea of being able to fly. I would probably want to be his father though, Daedalus got to keep his wings and not fall into the sea!

LUCY

Pacific Crest Community School, Multnomah County Library

Favorite music:

Currently, it’s anything punk/ rock (like Fall Out Boy, Panic! At The Disco etc.) as well as some indie bands/ singers.

Snack of choice:

Many things. Including (but not limited to) chocolate covered pretzels, chex’s muddy buddies, yogurt and fruit.

Passions:

I enjoy netflix, taking pictures, reading and cosplaying.

If I were in a myth:

I would be in (well it’s not technically a myth so much as a fictional story) Alice and Wonderland. I would be the Mad Hatter because he’s funny and crazy and just wonderful.

NOAH

Central Catholic, Multnomah County Library

Favorite music:

I don’t know why but instrumental game music just makes my day.

Passions:

I am passionate about art and games.

Games of choice:

I like idle games and adventure RPGs.

MAGGIE

Sam Barlow High School, Multnomah County Library

Favorite thing about where I live:

I am a native Oregonian and what I love most about Oregon is its variant beauty. Whether I am admiring the Painted Hills or hiking along the Columbia Gorge I feel at home.

Passions:

I am passionate about living life to the fullest! I like to try new things and test my limits.

Dream job:

I want to be a small business owner in East Multnomah County after I complete business school and gain experience. I’m not quite sure what services my business would render, but I know that I want to do outreach within the public schools.

MONICA

Gresham High School, Multnomah County Library (Fairview Library)

Dream job:

I aspire to be a pediatrician.

Passion:

I am passionate about music. I enjoy playing and hearing different varieties of music.

Snack of choice:

My favorite snacks are cookies, but not raisin cookies.

MIA

Lincoln High School, Girl Scouts

Favorite thing about where I live:

The thing I like most about Portland is that everyone cares about art. We have a free art museum so everyone can enjoy it. We have First Thursdays so people can view interesting galleries and forms of art they never would have known about otherwise. And we have sculptures around the city so no matter where you are, you have the reassurance that creative minds are near — you are definitely in Portland.

Passions:

Reading. I like reading Greek mythology and fiction based on those myths; I like reading Arthurian mythology and fiction based on those myths. That is why I first became interested in the Mythos Challenge. I especially approve of how you can have an entry centered around any legend, not just the more commonly-known lore from Greece or Rome.

Snack of choice:

My favorite snack is popcorn, but Chex Mix is a close second.

If I were in a myth:

I would like to be in “Robin Hood and the Silver Arrow,” as Maid Marion. She knows how to be a fighter equal in skill as her husband, and a leader charging in with the women to help the battle the men were losing. This shows that girls can be heroes just as much as the classic examples of Odysseus or King Arthur.

PRIYA

Lake Oswego High School, ChickTech

Passions:

When I was five, I started learning a form of Indian classical dance called Bharatanatyam. After nine years of training, in 2012, I completed my Arangetram (or debut solo performance). Since then, dance has taken me around the world and allowed me to meet so many amazing people, so I’m always thankful for that. I also started training in Taekwondo about seven years ago. It’s a great sport, and it’s really taught me a lot about perseverance. I’ve been a Taekwondo instructor for three years now, and I’m training to hopefully get my 3rd-degree black belt next spring.

Dream job:

I don’t have anything specific in mind, but I do know that I would like to be in a position where I can help people. I’ve considered medicine (surgery, in particular) because I think what appeals to me most is public health. I would like to work in an organization like Doctors Without Borders (or something of the sort) that would lend my job an international focus.

Snack of choice:

I don’t really have any qualms about food, so I tend to eat most things. But as for my favorite…dumplings. Enough said.

If I were in a myth:

The Mahabharatham, which is the source of some of India’s greatest mythologies, is a very fascinating subject. While it’s quite obscure in the Western world, the epic is as central to Hinduism and Indian culture as the Bible is to Christianity. The poem itself is of ambiguous origin, but the Mahabharatham is the longest poem ever written (about ten times the length of the Odyssey and the Iliad combined). The Bhagavad Gita (a central text in Hinduism), as well as other philosophical and moral teachings, are derived from the poem. While the tale itself would take hours to recount, the basic premise is this: two warring sets of cousins (the Pandava brothers and the Kauravas) sit down to play a game of dice, and of course, the bad guys win. So the protagonists, the Pandavas, are exiled to the forest for twelve years. They, naturally, do some scheming, and decimate the Kauravas in a war following their exile. Other problems–somewhat minor in comparison–arise later (these include family drama, curses, and more fighting), but eventually, the main characters spiritually ascend and there is as happy an ending as there could possibly have been.

For the sake of meeting these characters, I would’ve loved to have been in the middle of the action. Of course, a lot of clubs fly and decapitating is not an uncommon occurrence, but personally, I don’t think anyone would turn down an opportunity to jump into the rising action of one of India’s greatest epics.

Image: “Arjuna Battles Raja Tamradhvaja”, Folio from a copy of the Mahabharata in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 55.121.30. See the record in their online collections.

TERESA

Irvington High School, Girls, Inc.

Favorite music:

Video game music always sets me in the right mood. Very unique and fits into the gameplay.

Passions:

I am passionate about drawing and animating.

Dream job:

I dream of becoming an artist and/or animator and I practice drawing everyday.

If I were in a myth:

I would be in a Greek myth because there are many different types of heroes, villains, and monsters that come out of the stories said. I would like to be Medusa since I love reptiles and have the power to turn people into stone.

Image: “Medusa kop” by Antonio Salamanca on loan to the Rijksmuseum from the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten. See the record in their online collections.