From Crayons to the Digital Age
Chase Sam does not always color within the lines — and that's okay
By VIVIAN LaMOORE, INAAJIMOWIN EDITOR
Creativity began to show up at a very young age for Chase Sam. Keeping her fully stocked in crayons was a challenge for her parents, Naomi and Garrett Sam because Chase believed her entire world was a blank canvas upon which to draw, color, and cover with colorful stickers — including the walls of their home. All she wanted to do was to add some color and share her happiness with her friends and family. Chase is now 17 years young and is sharing her talents with the world.
Chase hasn’t always colored within the lines. If she had stayed on the average high school schedule, she would have just finished her junior year at Nay Ah Shing and would be spending her summer planning on becoming a senior in the fall. Instead, she chose an accelerated path and not only did she graduate from high school one year early, she was also the valedictorian for the class of 2022, and earned college credits while doing so.
“I am thankful for the fact that the school provided me with the opportunity to do my own work at a pace faster than the pace that was provided,” Chase said. “On top of that, the Central Lakes College (CLC) Upward Bound program works with the school to provide college pointers and have a PSEO [Post-Secondary Enrollment Options] program which I was involved in as well.”
Through the PSEO program at CLC, Chase was able to earn the credits needed to fulfill her junior and senior year academic obligations in one year and graduate from Nay Ah Shing one year early while also earning college credits towards a degree. “I wasn’t really focused on working towards my AA Degree, but I did earn college credits that will go towards a degree when I am ready. I wanted to finish early, in order to focus on other things. The credits applied to both college and high school,” Chase said.
She has always been driven to finish high school early. She began thinking about it when she was in the sixth grade. But she left that thought behind for a while until she talked to advisors at the beginning of this year. “And I thought, why not grab that opportunity while I can and take the initiative to do it.” And so she did.
Soft-spoken and humble, Chase will be spending her summer focused on her art and developing her art portfolio to be used for her college application, while also putting her imagination to work as an independent contractor with Rosetta Stone by contributing her artwork to the Ojibwe language learning programs.
This is not the traditional pencil and paper sketch artist work. Most of her work is done digitally using a software program called Procreate that turns her iPad into a digital studio she can take anywhere. “It works like a digital sketch pad,” she said. “It is a fairly simply program to work with. I have seen some other very talented artists use Adobe Illustrator, but I just don’t have the resources to invest in that program right now.”
Path to Rosetta Stone
Chase has three siblings, all girls: Ronni 21, Mia 19, and Levi 11. When asked if she was the only talented member of her family, she quickly smiled and firmly stated, “No! We are all talented!” She said she was inspired to do more with her artistic talents in combination with the Ojibwe language because of her grandmother, the late Panji Gahbow. She was quick to add that her grandpa Darrell Sam is a talented and inspirational artist as well.
Chase attended an Ojibwe language symposium where she connected with the other brilliantly talented Ojibwe artists such as Steve Premo, Jonathan Thunder, and Wesley Ballinger. “They just took a liking to me, I guess, and helped to mentor me,” she said shyly.
Her artwork has been showcased at Nay Ah Shing, and staff at the school mentioned it to the Aanjibimaadizing staff, who approached Chase by connecting with her mom, Naomi. Chase was asked to submit a presentation to Rosetta Stone. “I was really nervous as to how it was going to play out. I did not have an iPad, or anything at all,” Chase said.
It turns out, it didn’t matter what she used to create her presentation, Rosetta Stone liked her work and presented a contract to Chase doing digital illustration for the Ojibwe language learning app.
Chase says while she does have weekly meetings with her contractor, she doesn’t think of it as work because she is doing something she is passionate about — drawing. She is given a storyline and from there her imagination and creativity takes over. “They tell me the story and then it is like being given a movie script and the actor acts it out. Only I am given the story line and I just draw what I feel,” she said.
Showing an example of one of the panels she had already turned in to Rosetta Stone, Chase was thoughtfully doodling on a barnyard scene with animals. Each animal was unique and due to her interpretation, the illustration needed no explanation. The cow is disapproving; the pig is jealous; the rabbit is carefree and laughing while eating a carrot; and the chicken is shocked and appalled at the entire barnyard.
Summer vacation?
Chase said she is feeling good about finishing her high school career early and humbly gave a few hints at what might be included in her speech as valedictorian. “Well, I am going to thank my mom and dad for doing the dishes for me so I could study,” she said with a shy grin. “There were moments when I wanted to give up, but I didn’t. I kept pushing and there were always deadlines I had to meet and so I just did.”
She doesn’t consider this a typical high school graduate summer vacation. “Whenever I have the chance to sketch, I just start,” Chase said. While she will be paying attention to her deadlines for Rosetta Stone, she also plans to spend the summer building her portfolio, finding a summer job or two, and learning to drive. She does have her learner's permit, but would like to gain confidence driving more — especially in the Cities.
“That’s where I want to go to college,” she said. “I am looking at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. It is right next door to the Minnesota Institute of Art,” she explained, adding that it-is one of her favorite places to visit, learn, and be inspired. It is also near the International Farmers Market, another of her favorite places to visit.
She will spend the immediate coming weeks trying to find a job, or even two, she said. “College is expensive,” she said. “I need save up and also to find as many scholarships as I can. Mom and dad are helping me with that.”
What is her favorite thing to draw? She doesn’t really have a favorite artistic medium and can sketch just about anything. Given a few moments to think, she quickly sketched a horse while someone was looking over her shoulder. She also admitted that creating graphic design and video illustrations is not out of the question. Right now, she is happy to have her iPad easily accessible in her always present backpack, because she doesn’t think her mom would be too happy if she drew on the walls.
“It is true,” Naomi said with a laugh. “She would draw on everything. Being recognized publicly in her work is huge. She makes our family very proud. Very proud.”
While crayons were her go-to when she was young, she says she feels very confident about where she is right now illustrating on her iPad, and where her future is headed. She knows it is best to choose something you are passionate about. And most of all, it is okay to do life at your own pace and color outside of the lines.