Senior Tatevik Stepanyan decided to use her senior project as a way for her to learn about something completely new: glass art. Stepanyan became interested in glass art after hearing about her coworker’s experience with glass art.

“My final product is a 12×12 glass made of a variety of glass with a frame,” she said.

Researching on classes for art glass, Stepanyan ended up taking classes at a studio in Highland Park and was able to get the owner of the studio to be her mentor. Her mentor taught her the basic techniques as well as to how to use the heat power tools. Besides making her final project, Stepanyan also made simple ornaments, plate and jewelry. Another skill Stepanyan gained was that she learned how to use a kiln, which is a machine that melts glass to the point where Stepanyan could shape the glass. “I had no idea about glass art but I wanted try something new and it sounded really fun,” Stepanyan said.

Stepanyan finally presented her senior project to five judges who were in awe and she ended up receiving a score of 96. She impressed the judges with not just her final product, but also with the other pieces that she created during her lessons with her mentor. “I felt better presenting in front of the judges because it was more comfortable,” Stepanyan said. She considered herself lucky because she did not experience any technical difficulties with any of the technology she used. “The difference between presenting in front of judges is that they are in the mood to enjoy the presentation, but your peers will be looking for mistakes,” Stepanyan said.