At DSST, creativity comes in many forms. For Afomya Eshete (DSST: Green Valley Ranch ‘25), art is more than just a hobby—it’s a connection to her heritage, a way to stay rooted in her culture, and a source of pride.
Afomya has been part of the DSST: Green Valley Ranch community since seventh grade, and she describes her experience as “pretty positive with the teachers and the students.” One teacher, in particular, made a lasting impact: Mr. Sawyer, her digital art teacher.
“He was always encouraging us to go an artistic route,” she recalls. “He did say with all his students we had some artistic talent within us. He really wanted all of us to let loose and do our best with what we are passionate about.”
When it came time to apply to college, Afomya felt a mix of excitement and nerves. “At first, I was scared,” she admits. “For me, my parents, they wanted me to go to college and go that education route. I was scared at first and I wanted to prepare and do extracurriculars to get a better chance to start college. Doing the application was easy, thanks to my advisor.”
With her parents’ encouragement and support from DSST, she has applied to several colleges and is considering a career in either computer science or early childhood education.
Her advice to others facing similar challenges? “Life will get harder. Don’t let that consume you. Try to work around the hardships. You’re not alone; you have your friends and you have family.”
Beyond academics, Afomya’s love for art keeps her connected to her Ethiopian roots. One of her proudest creative endeavors is learning the traditional craft ጥጥ መፍተል (t’it’i mefiteli), commonly known as cotton spinning, a method used to turn raw cotton into thread. Demonstrating the process, she explains, “You take cotton, and it has little seeds in it, so you have to take them out. It becomes really soft, and what you do is take the cotton and weave it, then slowly start turning it. It becomes much thinner.… It’s usually the first step to our culture clothes. I am really happy that I asked my grandma to teach me, even though I am not that good at it yet. I think I was able to bond with my grandma. We don’t get to visit them that often, and it was a way to learn more about my culture.”
Her artistic interests have expanded into embroidery, a skill she picked up last year with the help of her teacher. “My teachers, Ms. Carter and Ms. Velasco were the ones who gave me the materials to start,” she said. “If you know how to sew, it’s kind of like that but using the yarn to color in.”
As she looks ahead to college and beyond, Afomya carries with her the lessons she’s learned at DSST.
“I think having those types of teachers around you does help uplift you and pursue your interest.”
With college on the horizon, Afomya is ready to take her creativity and cultural pride into the next chapter—wherever it may lead.