People Are Now Calling Me an Artist

McKinley-ALC Principal Al Johnson loves to tell the story of how he discovered Paige Philippi as an artist in his midst.

“I’m big on holding students accountable for their actions,” Johnson begins. I’ve got about 26 or so cameras that monitor our schools, but I also have a camera that monitors our bus stop. Students, sometimes when they leave school, make some mistakes, like writing graffiti and those kinds of things.”

Johnson is adamant about not destroying property. He believes in being a part of the community and respecting that community. In addition, he feels that students should be good stewards of their resources.

“I’m watching my cameras one day,” he continues, “and I happen to see a young lady drawing something on the booth at the bus stop.

“And, I’m like, ‘doggone it, what are you doing? Graffiti? And that’s gonna cost. You’re going to have to have a consequence for that.’”

So I zoom in and think, ‘That is actually good.'”

Johnson let Philippi know that he saw her on camera drawing on the bus booth and her consequence would be to clean it up. However, since he thought the artwork was good, he wanted to turn her artistic outlet into something good and positive.

Johnson had always wanted to do a mural at McKinley.

“So this is the idea,” Johnson told Philippi. “We are the McKinley Panthers, and I want you to create a mural and a brand new logo for us, and that is how you are going to pay it back.”

“Ok. I’ll do that,” replied Philippi.

A week later, Philippi presented an idea to Johnson for a logo at McKinley.

Philippi now realizes she should have attended McKinley as an alternative student sooner.

“I was nervous at first because it is an alternative school, but with the PACE program, it’s a lot more one-on-one. It allows you to be more individual. It helped me get that self-motivation to work more for myself and have more personal goals.”

Johnson continued to put Philippi to work.

Sheri Rutar, principal, at Clearview Elementary wanted to commission a new mural on the wall. The old one had been torn down with the new addition to the school.

Johnson told Rutar, “I have someone that can do that for you.”

Philippi, close to graduating, just needs elective credits to graduate.

“For her to work on something she loves and get credit for it, we’re all in,” says Johnson.

After he saw the mural at Clearview, Johnson sat down with Philippi to review her credits and asked her to create a mural for McKinley.

Johnson remembers their meeting.

“She said to me, ‘Mr. Johnson, thank you…People are now calling me an artist. And that is what I really want to be.'”

Johnson went on to tell Philippi, “That is why we are here, Paige.”

Philippi drew, sketched out and painted the mural that now adorns the McKinley office. It took her five days working 5 to 6 hours a day to complete the mural.

“It’s just great vision and she is such a nice young lady,” says Johnson.

“It’s just another example of a McKinley student that comes to the building with some issue blocking or interfering with their learning and us doing our best to put our arms around them and give them the support they need to get them through this station in life and on to something better.”

Philippi’s future plans after high school are to become a professional artist. She’d like to move to Venice Beach, CA and be able to sell her artwork along the boardwalk, like many other artists in the Golden State.

For more on Philippi’s story, watch the video.