DVD Seniors Showcase Leadership, Creativity, and Community Impact

**

Kenobi, Alex, Lena, and Francesca earned the Bringing Community Together Award for their project, Kain Tayo! ("Time to Eat"). Through this project, the students celebrated Filipino-American culture through food, public art, and community engagement. Partnering with CA Lasa Kitchen in Hawthorne and FilAm, they designed and painted a vibrant 6-by-8-foot mural honoring Filipino heritage, traditions, and the role that food plays in bringing people together.

The students spent two weeks painting the mural on-site, working daily to bring their vision to life. A prominent feature of the mural is a lechon (roasted pig), a staple of Filipino celebrations and a signature offering at CA Lasa Kitchen, where a whole pig is roasted every Thursday. The mural was unveiled at the restaurant last month and now serves as a colorful tribute to the local Filipino community and its rich cultural traditions.

> Watch the team's project video documenting the mural's design, creation, and unveiling.

In addition to creating the mural, the students participated in an Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) panel discussion at Belkin, sharing their mural project and how art can foster understanding, celebrate culture, and strengthen community connections.

Kenobi also won the Very Talented Human Award for his role as an outstanding project manager.

What's Next: Kenobi will attend USC and major in Cinematic Arts. Francesca is attending UC Santa Barbara, while Lena is attending Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.  

**

Casey and Javier won the Enriching Lives at Design Award for their project DVD News, a student-run news program they founded to strengthen communication and school culture across Da Vinci Design. Recognizing that important information was not always reaching students through Advisory, the duo launched DVD News during the first semester from Casey's garage with a simple goal: deliver news from students to students.

“The issue we wanted to solve was that information wasn’t being shared consistently, and people weren’t always paying attention,” said Javier. “We wanted to build a stronger community and share entertaining content from students, for students."

Today, DVD News is an engaging 3-5 minute video broadcast, produced twice weekly and shown in every Advisory classroom, keeping students informed about school events and community stories while adding an element of entertainment to the school day.

Students, families, and staff are invited to follow the DVD News Channel on YouTube to stay connected to the latest stories from across campus.

What began as a senior project evolved into a semester-long seminar (elective) with 18 students in grades 9-12 producing content. With support from industry partner Dana Amihere of AfroLA, Casey and Javier taught students the fundamentals of news production, including brainstorming, scriptwriting, filming, editing, and promotion. They also established student leaders at every grade level and secured a small budget to purchase cameras ensuring the program will continue after they graduate.

By creating content for students, by students, Casey and Javier have built a lasting platform that informs, engages, and connects the DVD community.

What’s Next: Casey will attend Whitman College on a full scholarship, double majoring in Economics and Journalism. Javier will attend the University of Missouri to study Civil Engineering while serving in the Army Reserve.

**

Jordan, Callie, and Amina’s project, Black Canvas L.A., celebrated Black artists and entrepreneurs while creating meaningful connections across the community. The students organized Rooted in Culture, an art exhibition at Five Point Five Brewing Company in El Segundo that showcased the work of four Black artists from the Los Angeles and Inglewood area.

To further elevate Black creativity and entrepreneurship, the event also featured seven to eight Black-owned businesses, a food truck, and opportunities for artists to sell their paintings and artwork directly to attendees.

In addition to hosting the exhibition, the students partnered the artists with Inglewood Avenue Preschool to lead hands-on art workshops for young children. Inspired by the event's theme, each preschooler painted a tree representing their immediate family, creating a visual celebration of identity, culture, and belonging.

“It was a really big opportunity for us and for the artists,” said Amina. “Reaching out to the artists, hosting the event, and seeing how interested people were was really rewarding. It also exposed the artists to the Inglewood community, and some artists sold pieces of their work.”

What’s Next: Amina will attend Boston University where she plans to study Biochemistry while continuing her Volleyball career. Jordan will attend UCLA and major in Design Media Arts, while Callie will attend Wiley University. 

**

Emily, Sophia, Kate, and Jazlene took on the ambitious task of planning and coordinating the entire DVD Senior Showcase. The idea began during their junior year when they watched seniors organize the event for the Class of 2025 and were inspired to continue the tradition.

“We chose this project because we wanted to learn the steps of planning such an important event for our school and to showcase what we have been learning over the past four years at DVD,” Emily shared.

Over the course of a couple of months, the team worked closely with Belkin and Da Vinci staff to help plan every aspect of the event. They contributed to key aspects of the showcase, including room layout and display planning for 45 project groups, parking, food and hospitality coordination, audiovisual needs, event logistics, insurance, communications with students and families, and preparations for the more than 350 students, families, and community members who attended.

Managing an event of this scale came with challenges, including delayed deliveries, communication issues, and last-minute setup changes. Through teamwork, adaptability, and strong communication, the students successfully delivered an event that celebrated the accomplishments of their classmates.

“Communication was key during this process,” Emily shared. “Even though there were rough patches, we pushed through and worked together to make sure everything went smoothly. We felt very excited to work with Belkin and Carla Levenson from the Home Office. It was such an amazing experience! We feel very proud that we were able to pull off such an important event for our classmates, teachers, and administrators.”

What’s Next: Emily will attend Santa Monica College and major in Business Administration; Sophia will attend Santa Monica College and major in Psychology; Kate will attend El Camino College and major in Radiologic Technology; and Jazlene will attend California State University, Long Beach and major in Applied Mathematics.