By Samantha Posa 

Over the summer, sophomore Haley Le won first place in the ninth grade division of the 2024-2025 Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) Student Art Competition. Hosted yearly to promote efforts in conservation and preservation of the environment, Le encapsulated the competition’s important values in her art piece. 

Her work donned the slogan “Think cleverly; save energy,” depicting a brain within a  lightbulb producing different ideas all discussing different ways to preserve the environment. 

Such ideas included small changes people can easily incorporate into their daily lives, such as taking shorter showers or washing clothes in full loads to save water. The piece also showcased inventions such as wind turbines and solar panels, innovations that both produce renewable energy. 

The composition of the artpiece included thoughtful strokes done by colored pencils, demonstrating Le’s passion and attention to detail in her artistry.  

Le was inspired to enter this contest after her Drawing 1 teacher Stefani Thomas informed her about the competition in her freshman year. 

“I am exceedingly proud to see one of my students achieve this honor,” Thomas said. “She makes very beautiful, moving work.”

Although initially joining for the artistic aspect of the competition, Le soon found herself diving into research on how to better care for the environment.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

“When crafting this piece, I thought a lot about how I could change some of my habits in my everyday life to save as much energy as I could,” Le said. “Since I’ve made this poster, I have become more aware and conscious of my own actions and habits. Through this project, I also learned new ways to help conserve energy.”

Le began her art journey at a very young age, with her creating her first art pieces in pre-school However, she began to view drawing as a real hobby in fifth grade. Beyond winning art competitions outside of school, Le furthers her artistic achievement in the classroom by taking Advanced Placement (AP) Drawing. 

With her success at the LADWP competition, Le’s artistic skill has expanded beyond simply drawing for her own enjoyment or for assignments. Her work alongside many others reminds people about the importance of keeping our city and planet clean for the coming year. 

“I hope that my poster makes people realize that anyone can help the planet and make a difference,” Le said. “This problem cannot be tackled alone, it is an issue we must all work together to solve with combined effort and collaboration.” You can find Le’s work alongside other winning pieces at https://nieonline.com/latimes/contests.cfm.