Lillian “Lily” Wells Crawford is on a journey that will be an adventure of a lifetime. Thirteen and in the eighth grade at Vine Middle School, Lily has been accepted into Interlochen Center for the Arts, touted as the top arts high school in the country.
Interlochen Center for the Arts sits on over 1,200 acres in rural countryside in Interlochen, Michigan. The enrollment during the school year varies around 500 annually.
So, how does a local Knoxville youth get connected to such a prestigious academy?
It all started with her teacher at Vine, Athanasios Bayiates, who introduced Lily to the possibility.
Lily’s father, David Crawford, is a Metropolitan Opera singer, and her mother, Laura Beth Wells, is an actress, so doing something “out of the box” is nothing new for this family. Her parents’ example of opportunity meeting adventure led Lily and them to investigate the center.
To be considered for admission, Lily had to submit eight pieces of artwork using different media, three essays, three teacher recommendations, and her grade transcripts.
The acceptance letter arrived last week, and she and her father flew to Interlochen, toured the school, and met with the freshman principal and the visual arts teachers.
Lily will enter Interlochen Center for the Arts as a freshman starting next fall. It’s a 4-year boarding school, and the costs have been made affordable by a scholarship Lily received from the school’s foundation.
Lily will have a lot of emotional support with Knoxville grandparents, Buddy and Vickie Wells, and Pittsburgh grandparents, Rita and George Crawford cheering her success.
Her daddy wrote this … “With a New Year comes new adventures. Proud to announce that Lillian has been accepted to The Interlochen Arts Academy for HS, starting in the fall, for Visual Arts. What started as an application on a whim has resulted in the opportunity of a lifetime for a budding young artist. Yes, this means she will be going to HS in Michigan. Yes, this will be a huge change for all involved. But it truly is something that is a perfect fit for her.”
Even with the scholarship, the move will incur unexpected costs, so Lily is very interested in helping raise the funds to make this opportunity possible. If anyone would like to “commission” a work of art from her, or if you want to help sponsor an amazing young artist, she would love to hear from you.
Reach Lily and her family through David’s email: dcrawford78@gmail.com or Laura Beth’s, ksuactor@gmail.com.
The art above is a “self-portrait” Lily drew very recently.
Follow KnoxTNToday on Facebook and Instagram. Get all KnoxTNToday articles in one place with our Free Newsletter.
