Gooey pies, scrumptious cakes, delicious cookies — you name it, senior Avayna Glass has baked it. During Thanksgiving, her house fills with homemade treats. She started using knives with skill at just seven years old and learned techniques from the Culinary Institute Cookbook. For Avayna, baking is a way to bring her creative visions to life, and she finds joy in sharing her confections with friends and family.

“My favorite thing is when I see their faces, and their faces light up and they’re like, ‘This is the best thing I’ve ever tasted,’” Avayna said. “Even though they say that about every single food, when I make it means more to me.”

Avayna first learned to bake apple pie from her mother and has enjoyed baking sugary treats, especially apple-flavored ones, ever since. She comes from a culinary background, as Avayna’s grandmother runs a taffy shop, and her mother is a dietitian who has attended culinary school.

Baking gives Avayna an opportunity to continue the tradition of cooking while deepening connections with her friends. Senior Hannah Streeper, a friend since elementary school, loves creating last-minute baking plans with Avayna and enjoys the end result, no matter how stressful and chaotic baking in the kitchen is. She believes Avayna’s caring personality is apparent even in these small activities like baking.

“I really admire Avayna’s confidence, her ability to express herself, both outwardly, but also to people,” Hannah said. “She’s just a very genuine, kind person. It’s so obvious in everything she says that she really loves her friends and the people around her. She knows exactly what to say to make a person feel good about themselves.”

Visual Arts Department Chair Joshua Martinez, Avayna’s advisor, has also seen Avayna’s self-assurance grow in large undertakings and small moments. Avayna’s sense of adventure is never-ending from then to now, whether it be last-minute plans to the beach with her friends or exploring new places on day trips.

“You see the mischievousness in that younger moment, but then after, there’s always this sort of confident rebelliousness that continued,” Martinez said. “Her unique qualities would be her genuine sense of honesty and forthrightness. Avayna likes to go her own way a lot of the time, but I also find that I can trust her.”

Avayna’s confidence led her to take on one of the biggest challenges of her high school career: directing a Student Directed Showcase production. Having always been drawn to acting and the stage, Avayna was chosen as one of the few student directors, giving her the chance to finally bring her own vision to life. Close friend senior Caitlyn Wong joined the production to support Avayna and noticed different sides of her throughout the creation of the play.

“Seeing her direct and being in her element creatively is really special.” Caitlyn said. “She definitely has very particular visions that she’s seeing, and I’m really happy to be able to work with one of my best friends to bring what she wants to make to life.”

Avayna was provided a real outlet for production in sophomore year when she took the Acting for the Camera class. Her interest for theater beyond acting sparked in that class, and she eventually became intrigued by film and the producing element. While acting shaped Avayna’s view of the world, film gave her an insight on how others view it.

“Film shows how generational perspectives have shifted,” Avayna said. “It gives you a look into how a group of people see the world and how their vision can come to life through a screen, and I think that’s beautiful. Every single film holds a piece of so many people and so many experiences, and the reason I want to go into that field is just because I would love to be able to add to that and help other people be able to express themselves and share a piece of themselves with the world.”

Producing has been more challenging for Avayna than acting, but every single obstacle she overcomes, she gains more confidence and motivation to continue reaching higher. Through performing, acting and creating, Avayna forms lifelong connections and learns practical theater skills, giving her a greater understanding of the artistic world.

“Every single aspect of my being, I wouldn’t be who I was without theater,” Avayna said. “It’s given me a community, it’s given me resources to be able to express myself on a stage and then being able to take those tools and put them into my day to day life of being able to express myself freely and without shame. It’s  shaped a lot of the way I see the world in a creative sense and in a literal sense as well.”

Avayna’s life has been framed through her experiences with baking, family, friends and theater. In all these activities, big or small, Avayna lives with a mindset to choose peace, understanding, kindness and consideration. Focusing on the positive parts of life pushes her to higher levels, always aspiring to achieve further success in her endeavors. 

“I can choose whether I dwell on the hard parts of life, or if I move beyond it and let myself grow,” Avayna said. “I can see the world as it is, in a way that I want it to be, and a way that I believe I can make it. I choose how I shape the world around me.”