Sarina Zhou wins first place at the Orlando Global Peace Film Festival Art Show

DR. PHILLIPS As part of the Center for International Studies Magnet at Dr. Phillips High School, Sarina Zhou is deeply passionate about people and living in harmony with others. She dreams of studying international relations in college and one day working at the United Nations.

“I’ve always been a big advocate for people and unity in the world,” said Zhou, who is a sophomore at Dr. Phillips High. “We’re all humans. We think alike; we are alike.”

It was this idea that served as the inspiration for her drawing, “World United,” that won first place in the high school division at the Orlando Global Peace Film Festival Orange County Public School Student Art Show.

“I was really happy and extremely excited,” Zhou said about receiving the award. “I felt like my hard work paid off.”

Zhou took her first art lesson four years ago and has since been hooked on creating art. Her primary medium of choice is colored pencil, which is what she used to create her “World United” drawing.

“It’s the most comfortable for me,” she said. “But I also love acrylic, and that’s what I’m working on now.”

Her favorite subject to draw or paint are landscapes and faces, she said.

“I think natural landscapes are so beautiful, so moving,” Zhou said. “And there’s something so beautiful about a person’s face, something so genuine and unique.”

She’s already planning to take more advanced art classes in upcoming years to further her artistic abilities.

“I want to eventually be able to draw the whole human body and make sure the proportions are correct,” she said. “I’m not at that level yet, but I’d like to be.”

Zhou said she easily spends a few hours drawing up a portraits, but a more in-depth piece, like “World United,” may take several days. And she said that she draws inspiration from her surroundings.

“Mostly my inspiration comes from my life and the people around me,” she said.

Her winning piece features her own two hands holding up a sphere that shows children being fed, women empowered and all races coming together in peace.

“I drew my own hands holding the sphere because my hands are everybody’s hands,” Zhou said. “We all uphold the world together.”

Her goal with her piece was to inspire others not only live in peace but to work together to make the world a better place.

“There’s something beyond religion, beyond color,” Zhou said. “We’re not that different. There are injustices in the world, and if we all work together to help that, we’d get peace. We’re stronger together.”

According to Zhou, her two years so far at the Dr. Phillip High Center for International Studies Magnet have been invaluable, and she said that she plans to continue mixing her passion for peace with her art.

“I think everybody has a story,” she said. “And that’s what I want to do with my art - reflect their story.”