MHS Senior Kat DiIonno is truly a multi-faceted student. As Senior Class President, she dedicates a lot of her time to making school as enjoyable for her peers as possible. DiIonno balances this and her schoolwork with her passion for art and music: she is both an accomplished drawer and guitarist. MDO got a chance to speak with DiIonno (KD) about her love of art as well as senior activities as the year draws to a close.

MDO: When did you start drawing and creating art?

KD: I started drawing in like 7th grade and I wasn’t very good. I would just draw pictures of celebrities and doodle on my homework and not show them to anyone.

MDO: Do you have a favorite work of art?

KD: My favorite works of arts would have to be the Vanitas paintings. My opinion on art changed when I saw them actually because they’re still-lifes and every artist knows how boring still-lifes are. But [the artist] made them have so many hidden meanings behind the objects in them and it was during a time where you couldn’t come right out and say whatever you wanted because art wasso censored. So instead they hid it by adding little secret meanings.

MDO: Do you want to pursue a career in art or music?

KD: As of right now I’m looking to pursue a career in art and do music as a side thing for a few extra bucks here and there. I’d love to open my own store one day and sell customs furniture I make and paint and do cool stuff to.

MDO: What aspects of the creative process do love? Hate?

KD: My favorite thing in the entire world that is part of my creative process I guess is taking a whole day off and spending a full 24 hours non-stop on one drawing or painting or project. You can really only do that when you’re inspired and when you’re that inspired the hours just fly by and before you know it it’s been a day and time for school and you haven’t slept. What I hate is having something to say that I want to do a painting or drawing about and not being able to form it into an image. It can get really frustrating.

MDO: Any advice for aspiring drawers?

KD: Advice to aspiring artists is stop doing commission work and stop drawing your dog and celebrities. It’s a great starting point but you need to have something to say that you want to get across to people through your art. People should always walk away feeling a little curious what it was about.

And now for a change of pace…a look at Kat’s experience as Senior Class President.

MDO: Why did you decide to run for Class President?

KD: I ran for Class President because Brooke Davis in One Tree Hill was Class President and she was awesome. She did so much stuff for her class and her whole pitch was to bring the class together, which I felt was exactly what our class needed. I wanted to make sure we all leave MHS feeling like we were a part of everything: the class and each other, even for just a minute.

MDO: What do you hope you’ll leave the Class of 2015 with?

KD: I hope to leave the class of 2015 with a little feeling of unity. I hope to leave myself though with a little bit more wisdom on the ups and downs that I went through in high school and deal with them a little better next year.

MDO: Any thoughts thus far on your graduation speech?

KD: Sore subject. I have no idea what to say and I probably won’t even start it until that morning.

MDO: Is there any event you’re really excited for as the end of the year approaches?

KD: I’m honestly way more excited about the gala than anything else which is kinda weird cause everyone thinks it’s pretty lame. It’s the last time everyone’s going to be together though like that is the last few hours we’re still a class and it’s all about having an innocently good time.

MDO: Final thoughts? Advice to underclassmen?

KD: Advice to underclassmen is you’ll never remember your study halls in 10 years. If you’re a kid who has like 3 free periods a day, take a class you wouldn’t normally take. Take an art class or a guitar class or a photography class or psychology even if you’re going to be a business major. Anything that can fit in your schedule. Get everything you can out of high school because you might find a passion you would have never expected.

Kat DiIonno will be studying Fine Arts at Loyola University New Orleans next fall. Best of luck!