Once upon a time, there was a girl who loved the world of fiction, where creativity and imagination ran amok like wild beasts and birds. One day, the girl discovered a fantasy world built from creativity and imagination. In that fantasy world, she watched as dragons leapt and breathed vibrant scorching fire. This was the world of the screen, or more specifically, the world of the movie “How To Train Your Dragon,” and the girl who had immersed herself into the life of the village of Berk was Alisa Grebin (12). The movie, a token film in the childhoods of many, sparked a desire to create and share in young Alisa’s heart. 

“Ever since I was little, I’ve loved reading fantasy and science fiction, all those different stories, and I’ve always wanted to somehow bring those out into the world,” Alisa said. “I would watch all those animated Disney movies while I was growing up, and those would just be so impactful to me. I wanted to do that as well.”

Yet, like many childhood dreams, her hopes of pursuing art sat on the shelf for a long time. As time flew by, Alisa found it difficult to dedicate the necessary time and effort to pursue her love of art. Instead, she turned her attention to biology, and in particular, genetics, a subject she quickly set her sights on. Yet, with the arrival of quarantine came the time to pursue new and old interests, reawakening her artistic dream. 

“[Alisa] has always been a very curious person,” close friend Sara Bhowmick (12) said. “For the longest time, she wanted to go into genetics. She was really, really into that. In fact, when she told me that she was now going into art, I was surprised, because for the longest time, she was always going to know exactly what she was going to be.”

In fact, it was a YouTube compilation that sparked Alisa’s interest in art as a career.

“I remember one particular moment when I started thinking of art as a potential career versus just a hobby during quarantine,” Alisa said. “I was watching a compilation of student works from a college that specializes in computer animation. I remember thinking [about how] one person can make something so incredible, and I then knew that I wanted to do that as well.” 

Movies fostered Alisa’s newfound interest in art — the ability to provoke awareness and captivate the attention of the audience inspired her to create art for a cause. Now, Alisa hopes to become an artist and animator to promote change in global issues.

Having family in Ukraine drives Alisa to direct her attention to the ongoing conflicts in the country. Her passion for peace also carries over to her concerns about climate change.

“I’ve always cared a lot about the environment,” Alisa said. “I always loved spending time walking outside watching the sunset, and I really want people to just take that more seriously. So many people say that they are worried about the future but they don’t know what to do or they feel like they can’t do anything. I want to somehow get them to start thinking that maybe that they can do something.” 

Alisa proactively pursues her dreams of creating change through her current projects in school, taking art courses and researching animation on the internet. 

“Recently, when Alisa decided to go into art and specifically animation, it was crazy to see how creative she was in all her drawings, in every single piece of work that she did that I saw,” Sara said.

On a smaller scale at school, Alisa makes change simply by supporting her friends whenever they need a shoulder to lean on. 

“I always try to be somebody who’s just there for my friends,” Alisa said. “I’ve had some friends go through a pretty tough time in the past, and I always try to be there for them. If they need help with something, I’m always willing to give them whatever they need.” 

Close friend and classmate Amrita Pasupathy (12) values Alisa’s unique insight and sense of humor. The two met in the lower school and grew closer together while taking French courses in middle and high school.

“It’s nice to see Alisa’s perspective on things,” Amrita said. “It’s always fun to talk to her. She’s a very reasonable and level-headed person. In terms of knowing [Alisa] better, I learned more about her interests like art and the way she thinks about the world.”

Upper school computer science teacher Susan King, who taught Alisa AP Computer Science in her junior year, remembers Alisa as a kind-hearted and helpful student. 

“My first impression [of Alisa] was friendly,” King said. “The strongest memories that I have always surround her kindness and helpfulness. But what’s so memorable was just how she came into the classroom: friendly. Those that were her friends felt safe around her. She has such a kindness and compassion to her. I don’t know if she ever left my classroom without helping me.”  

Now, Alisa already begins to paint her future, using the vibrant colors of kindness and compassion, highlighted with curiosity and sheer perseverance, to illustrate her experiences and hopes for the world. 

“I want to somehow get people to truly care about real world topics outside of the limited hour, two hours that they spend watching something,” Alisa said. “It’s a lot of work. It takes a lot to just improve. But it’s also wonderful if I can somehow give that out to the world through my art. That would be everything I would ever hope to accomplish.”