Senior Ebonee Rice: Scholar, Athlete, Artist
Art requires patience, skill, creativity and especially, time. From oil pastels to graphite to acrylic paint, to creations that take up to thirty hours, senior Ebonee Rice expresses herself in beautiful and passionate ways through her art.
Rice has been interested in art since age eight. Her grandfather, a former art teacher, introduced her to the fine arts. Since then she has always been constantly improving and working on trying to create her own distinct style. When she got to high school she took an art class fro m TAHS art teacher Eric Feather, she was hooked.
“Mr. Feather has always supported me and my artwork, and he always motivates me to challenge myself in my art,” says Ebonee, “he’s a great teacher to have not only because he has a lot of knowledge in all different types of media, but he also genuinely cares about his students.”
She began entering her pieces into the annual art show at Tyrone that takes place in the summer and has won first place last year. She also won second place in her sophomore year and honorable mention her junior year and has continued to spend copious amounts of time on her art.
“Ebonee is an exceptionally talented artist. Her artwork demonstrates meticulous attention to detail which is the result of keen observation of her subject,” said Feather, “she enriches the classroom not only with her artistic gifts but also her personality, especially her dry sense of humor. It’s a reminder of how much I miss the day to day interactions with students.”
“Art has always helped me relieve stress and find creative ways to alleviate any pressure I’m feeling from school or volleyball. I think the thing I enjoy most about art though is that I’m able to see the progress I’ve made from when I first started to now and that motivates me to improve more,” says Rice.
While Ebonee excels with art, she also excels academically and athletically.
She is the currently the salutatorian of the 2020 graduating class and is enrolled in three dual enrollment classes in addition to completing six already. She has always taken a liking to academics and done well, and her art helps her focus on her school.
Rice was accepted to Temple, Penn State University Park, and the University of Pittsburgh. She will attend Pitt in the fall and major in medical anthropology.
“I didn’t want to major in art in college in order to focus on other academic interests, but I’m hoping to enroll in some art classes in order to continue to improve,” said Rice.
Art by Ebonee Rice.
Rice also excelled athletically as a starter on the volleyball team. She reached the milestone of 500 digs her Junior year and has been a starter since her sophomore year. In addition to school, she played club volleyball for Horseshoe Volleyball. There she won several tournaments and was also a huge passion for her. While volleyball was a way to relieve her anger and stress, she still felt art was the best way for her to express herself.
“Ebonee has always been a great role model in my life and will forever be my best friend. She is the most hardworking and humble person I know,” says senior Reagan Wood.
Rice still maintains a leadership quality in and out of school and will always be a stand out due to her hardworking and exuberant personality.
What's up I’m Reagan Wood, and I am senior at Tyrone Area High School. I am the features editor this year and I cover activities students are involved...
