2026 Students of Distinction

Gwendoline Via: Sketching a future in the arts

Gig Harbor Now is posting profiles featuring the Students of Distinction being honored by the Greater Gig Harbor Foundation. Peers, teachers or parents nominate students, who must be a graduating senior at a Peninsula School District school. A panel of community leaders selects students to be honored in one of seven categories: academics; athletics; career and technical excellence; community service; music, arts and drama; overcoming adversity; and science and technology.

These students will be celebrated during a banquet from 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, May 20, at Ocean5, 5268 Pt. Fosdick Dr.

School: Gig Harbor High School

Category: Art, music and drama

Gwendoline Via

School: Gig Harbor High School
Category: Music, Arts & Drama

For Gwendoline Via, art has always been more than creativity — it has been connection, healing, and a way of understanding herself and the world around her. From childhood sketches to running her own art business, the Gig Harbor High School senior has spent years using art to build community, celebrate identity, and create spaces where others feel seen.

“When I put pencil to paper, it always makes me smile,” Gwendoline says. “Art teaches me persistence and helps me express things I can’t always say with words.”

Gwendoline Via

As a freshman, Gwendoline launched her small business, Honey Soup, selling artwork at local festivals and community events throughout the Gig Harbor area. Her colorful watercolor bird series, inspired by Pride flags and themes of identity and belonging, became one of her most meaningful projects — eventually helping support Pride in the Park fundraising and awareness efforts within the community.

“I want my art to bring joy and connection to people,” she says.

Beyond her own business, Gwendoline became involved with FlyStart, a nonprofit supporting young artists, where she facilitated community art activities and connected with other creatives. She also balanced her artistic work with Running Start coursework at Tacoma Community College, where she is on track to graduate with both her high school diploma and an associate degree.

That transition to college classes as a teenager was not always easy. Gwendoline struggled initially with the increased academic pressure and uncertainty about where she belonged. But through perseverance, support systems, and the same determination she brings to her artwork, she gradually found confidence in herself and her future.

Today, Gwendoline has been accepted into three art colleges and plans to pursue a degree in comic art — fulfilling a dream that began years ago reading comic books with her grandmother.

“My goal is that one day there’s a kid reading something I created, and it brings them the same joy and belonging I felt when I was young,” she says.

For Gwendoline, art is not simply about creating images. It is about creating understanding, representation, and the reminder that everyone deserves a place where they feel accepted.