Art geek Diana Novachevska, a senior at West Milford High School, is making sure that she leaves her mark at this school. As president of the Art Honor Society, Diana handles a lot throughout her week. She told us that it “feels like a big responsibility. It’s a lot to handle but it’s such an honor to hold that title.” She later added that it makes her feel like the “art-iest” kid in school.
Along with being president of the AHS, she also participates in the school musical. She’s very involved in the play, as she is an important member of the stage crew and a student art director. Last year, with the help of Miss. Gallaugher, she was a student art director for the first time, and she plans on doing it again this year. Novachevska also works part-time at an art gallery and custom frame shop, located in Sparta. She takes four art classes during the day, participates in Chess Club, runs an after school club called “Join-In Art Club” for the special needs students at WMHS, along with designing, painting, and bringing to life the senior wall outside (which she shared that she’s been doing for three years now!).
When asked what secret quirks she had, Novachevska responded quickly and surely saying, “Art is my quirk. I like to sketch portraits of people that they don’t even know exist. I’m always doodling and sketching.” She pulled out her sketchbook and showed some of these portraits, which were absolutely stunning. I noticed that she does all of her portraits in pencil, which prompted “The Echo” to ask Diana what her favorite medium is to work with. Again, she quickly answered, “I love working with pencil. It’s what I have the most control over because I’ve been using it for so long. I know how to make textures and things come to life through pencil. Sometimes it doesn’t always look finished or complete but it’s definitely the most fun for me.”
In the future, Novachevska shared that she hopes to go to Montclair State University for the five year art education master’s program. After continuing her education, she wants to be an art teacher for high schoolers; she shared that she wants to be a “Ms. Cosgrove 2.0”. She said that she has been “very back and forth with art”. She knows that it can be an unstable job choice, but no matter how many times she strayed away, she “always came back to it and that’s how [she] knew it was the right choice for her.”
She revealed during our interview that she connects to each of the art teachers differently, but equally as strong. She referred to them as her “moms”, sharing that Cosgrove keeps her on task and always motivates her with school and her future, Monego is a huge support system, and that Gallaugher is her “play mom” and that they’ve gotten very close through working on the school musical together.
Novachevska is an interesting and complex student. She has goals, ambitions, and dreams, but she’s incredibly grounded and a realist all the same. It was a pleasure to get to know Novachevska a little bit more to understand how her head works and how involved she truly is in the art department at the high school.