Trying something new is scary. Each semester, high school students from Grand Rapids Public Schools come to WMCAT’s Teen Arts + Tech Program to meet new people and learn a new art form.

Justice Gleason was scared to start at WMCAT as a ninth grader, but those nerves didn’t last long. “The moment I stepped into the building, the moment I started talking to people, everybody, whether staff [or] students, were so overwhelmingly kind and accepting.”

Justice works on their ceramics project in WMCAT’s Teen Arts + Tech Program.

Now a high school senior, Justice has experienced four years of support at WMCAT. In the trusted atmosphere of the ceramics studio, teen artists are encouraged to share their artwork, solve problems, and serve as a resource to each other. Together, they’ve built creative confidence.

And that’s what Justice plans to do. Even though they are nervous for their next steps after high school, they are ready to cast a vision for their future, relying on the confidence they built at WMCAT.