Junior Charlotte Robinson has always had a passion for art. 

Robinson, who is currently a student in the Advanced Art 3D class, says that drawing helps her to relax and focus.

“I doodle a lot in class because I found that it helps me to process what I’m hearing if I’m doing something with my hands,” Robinson said.

While she still enjoys pencil drawings, Robinson has found that the wide variety of different materials available for her to work with at La Salle has helped her expand her creative horizons.

In her sophomore year, she worked with gouache for the first time, creating a painting of her older sister while golfing. While Robinson had painted before, this experience brought her a new perspective.

“It was my first time being in an art class where I was challenged more to create something grander,” she said. “After that, I realized that even though it was such a simple thing, I could do so much.”

That artwork won a Gold Key of the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, America’s longest-running, most prestigious awards program for students in the arts. According to Robinson, the award was entirely unexpected, but it remains one of her proudest moments.

“That was a really big accomplishment,” Robinson said. “I still think about that a lot. It was a good day.”

While she does enjoy her art class, Robinson finds that she prefers subjects that are more academically challenging to her. In particular, she mentioned her Honors Biology class, noting the photosynthesis unit of semester one as one of her favorites.

“I love to learn new things,” Robinson said. “I love understanding the stuff … being able to see something and get it is so cool.”

Baking is very interesting to her because of that investigative, scientific element. It involves a lot of chemistry, and Robinson enjoys playing with ingredients to see how it affects her product.

“I think cooking is an art,” she said. “Anything that involves creating something, I was always super into.”

Robinson has enjoyed cooking since she was little. She takes inspiration from her dad, grandma, and mom, whom she said is an especially good cook.

“Just watching and helping her in the kitchen, I got really into trying to make my own stuff, even if it came out bad,” Robinson said.

Before the pandemic, Robinson and her extended family used to go on trips to various areas in Central Oregon, such as East Lake, Crooked River, and McCubbins Gulch, where they camped in their trailer.

“I just have a lot of good memories there, riding bikes and stuff,” Robinson said. “And I remember riding my bike for the first time [while] camping.”

She is very close with her family, describing them as “weird, in the most loving way possible.” Robinson looks to them as role models, specifically her parents for guidance in morals and values. She also mentioned Jesus as a role model, as religion plays a large role in her life.

Robinson and her family are members of a golf club, where she plays recreationally when the weather’s nice. Her dad got her started, beginning to take her with him when she was in first grade.

Since then, Robinson has stuck with golf over other sports because of the quality time with her dad. Beyond that, she views it as a valuable, lifelong skill.

“It’s something I can really take through with me,” Robinson said. “Golf is something I can play forever, until I’m old.”

She swung between JV and varsity freshman year and has played varsity since sophomore year, which also factored into her decision to prioritize golf.

“A lot of people think golf is really easy,” Robinson said. “And I mean, it’s a pretty straightforward thing — you swing a stick at a ball.”

According to Robinson, however, that changes at the high school level.

“There’s a lot of mechanics to it — it’s a very mental game,” Robinson said. “And I think, in a way, that’s helped me a lot to not take things so seriously. When you hit [the ball] badly, you just have to think about your next shot, because there’s nothing else you can do about what happened.”

Robinson’s dream career is to be an architect, similar to her father. She also wants to be self-employed and to run a vineyard and a golf course eventually.

Though these pursuits would be fun for Robinson, she acknowledged that they would only be in contribution to her “ultimate” goal — to have enough money in excess to truly make a difference through charity.

“I want to help; I want to contribute,” Robinson said. “That’s why I want to be rich, so that I can give money to people who need it.”

Approaching senior year, Robinson reflected on what matters most as she prepares to finish her high school career.

“Don’t take anything too seriously,” Robinson said. “Not that it’s bad to stress or strive to do good, but it’s important to take time for yourself — to not worry too much. Because even if things go wrong, everyone here is human.”

Robinson’s advice to incoming freshmen expresses that same sentiment.

“Take your time,” Robinson said. “Seriously, I can’t believe I’m a junior. I cannot believe it’s been two and a half years at La Salle … Try to find the joy in each day, each moment, even during the bad days, and just try to enjoy it because you only get four years.”