From shredding the slopes, to stitching, to spirituality, senior Ari Bonifay is a collection of creativity.

Bonifay grew up attending a Waldorf charter school and then went to McDaniel High School before later transferring to La Salle halfway through his sophomore year. 

While at the Waldorf charter school, he enjoyed the social aspect of the school, especially appreciating the creativity the school helped to foster in him. 

Now, Bonifay said he channels this passion for creativity into his artwork. The focus on his art first began when he arrived at La Salle, and currently, Bonifay is mainly working on his 3D AP Art portfolio. 

He especially enjoys working with fabric and modifying his clothes. For about a year, he’s been taking sewing classes, with denim being his favorite material to work with. After graduation, he hopes to become a fashion designer, and his dream is to attend fashion school in New York.

In the meantime, Bonifay said he is working to develop his skills, trying to grow his ideas until he can fully execute them. 

“That’s my main goal right now,” he said. “Just get my ideas out there and sketches and stuff like that, so when I do have the skills, I’m ready to just work and get it out.”

Bonifay is also interested in athletics, working out in his free time, and playing a variety of sports. 

He’s played football throughout his entire high school career, ran track for three years, played basketball for one year, and has been on the snowboarding team for two years.

Bonifay has played a lot of sports, but said that snowboarding stands out as a highlight. While he’s been snowboarding since he was little, Bonifay didn’t practice seriously until three years ago. 

Bonifay said he loves the feeling of going fast on a snowboard. 

“It’s the best feeling in the world to me,” he said.

Bonifay enjoys the freedom that snowboarding brings him as it’s “not as competitive as other sports, so it’s more relaxing,” he said. “I can just focus on myself and doing the runs or tricks that I want to do.”

He enjoys listening to music while on the mountain, such as Lana Del Rey and Yeat.

At home, Bonifay spends a lot of time with his younger sister, babysitting and hanging out with her. He also takes care of her bunny. When he can, he loves to hang out with his adoptive brother, who is the same age as him; however, their schedules tend not to match up. 

His mother is his biggest role model, which he attributes to her hard work ethic and how she works to create the best opportunities for him. 

Now that Bonifay is nearing the end of his high school career, he has been focusing a lot on his spirituality and preparing to live by himself. 

He said that the previous Director of Faith, Mr. Tom MacLaughlin, was a big catalyst for his spiritual journey, which started off his junior year in his Catholic Moral Thinking class. 

Now, Bonifay likes to think more about how he treats others, and wants to aim for self-improvement and growth through being kinder in all aspects of his life. He’s working on not judging others as much and focusing on building his own work ethic. 

In his free time, he loves to watch his favorite show, “Dexter,” play video games, and work out. 

In the future, he can see himself living in France due to its lively fashion scene.