Art says what words can’t for this Tri-Cities grad. And it’s getting noticed
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Lena Olsen graduates from HomeLink after years of home schooling.
- Olsen's anime-inspired art wins awards, scholarships and statewide recognition.
- She plans to study art therapy at CWU, combining psychology with creativity.
Thirteen years ago, a dairy allergy and a desire from her parents for a more tailored education brought Lena Olsen to Three Rivers HomeLink.
From kindergarten to her senior year, she says, the hybrid public-home school program been a perfect fit.
“This place is such a community-focused and centered school,” said the award-winning artist and pianist. “All our staff and our teachers just radiate compassion, and that reflects on to the students. We have great role models here, and all the students here are so welcoming.”
It’s that support that has helped Olsen overcome health challenges, deepen her love of art, use those talents to win scholarships and advocate for her fellow youth, and has led her to don the cap and gown for graduation Saturday, June 7, at Richland High School.
She’s one of just 23 graduating in HomeLink’s Class of 2025.
“This school feels way more like a family than a school, to me,” said Olsen, 18. “I never felt a reason to leave. I felt I had an equal amount of opportunities to do things here because of the people here and the community here.”
She will attend Central Washington University in the fall to study art and psychology, with plans to later pursue graduate school. She wants to work as an art therapist — a “very niche” and “uncommon” occupation, she admits with a chuckle.
HomeLink staff say Olsen’s efforts go above being an amazing student. She’s a bright person who can be a close confidant for many of her classmates.
“She truly cares deeply for others, and one way she shows that is by being an active listener. She is a person’s biggest cheerleader, yet is also willing to tell the truth in a caring, thoughtful way,” said Tara Affholter, her leadership and language arts teacher.
“The people who are in her path during life are going to be so lucky to experience her genuineness,” she said.
Three Rivers HomeLink is a K-12 publicly funded learning option for families in the Tri-Cities who home school their children. About 760 students are enrolled in the parent partnership program, which is split between two campuses at Thayer Drive and Van Giesen Street.
An art show fixture
Olsen’s art is a regular fixture around regional school and statewide art competitions. The past four years, she’s submitted work to the regional Education Service District 123 student art show. She’s also a regular at the Richland Uptown ArtWalk event.
Last year, one of her marker pieces, “Garden of Love,” was featured in the Washington Superintendent’s High School Art Show. She took home the CWU Art for Change award and a $2,000 scholarship, and her art was hung in the education department in Olympia.
“I think that’s when I realized that my art had a much bigger impact than I realized,” she said. “My main goal with the art that I like to make is I like to convey some sort of message. I want people to relate to my art, I want people to feel seen, I want people to feel heard by my art.”
A reserved queer youth, Olsen says her anime-inspired work often conveys the thoughts and ideas her words can’t. Her friends are very supportive, and sometimes the very people she’s making pieces for.
Other times, it’s for herself. Another one of her pieces, “Cholelithiasis,” a watercolor self portrait she submitted for state consideration, mirrored the pain she experienced with a recent gallstone condition.
“I like that shock factor. I like surprising people,” she said.
Olsen says she’s been expressing herself through art ever since she could hold a pencil. Her grandparents on both sides are artists and raised her doing family projects. In middle school, she discovered internet platforms where she could post her work and develop her own style.
“Going into high school, I realized, maybe this was a much bigger passion than I thought it was because find myself spending all my free time doing art,” she said.
She can sometimes spend dozens of hours a week working on her craft, and doing commission pieces.
Olsen is also part of student leadership, having helped organize dances, blood drives, social events and volunteer opportunities.
Olsen has also been involved in HomeLink’s chamber orchestra as its pianist the past three years — a group that’s turned into a “family within a family,” she says. She’s been playing the piano since she was 5.
Olsen says she’s struggled with turning down extracurricular opportunities because she wants to say “yes” to everything and help others. But that has led to some avoidable stress.
If she had any advice for her underclassmen, it would be that it’s OK to say “no” at times when the burden is high.
“Most of the time, I find a way to get it done. But that kind of has led me to take on more than I can chew,” she said. “I really want to help people. That’s what I feel is my ultimate calling.”
