A collaborative art piece, “Community,” created by junior Kali Sun, will be displayed at the state Capitol.

Since 2014, each state senator has chosen one K-12 student art piece, giving them the chance to have their work displayed in the Senate Arts Hallway. State representative Sen. Lauren Arthur, representing Clay County, hand-picked Sun’s work.

“I was so shocked. I didn’t know about it; I just submitted it one day,” Sun said. “It came back so long later that I just didn’t realize and called my mom and was like, ‘Is this big? I don’t know.’ I was just so surprised.”

Sun included a surprise in the watercolor and ink piece and a nostalgic touch.

“When I was younger, I remember seeing a bunch of places and scenery, like buildings, and I thought ‘Oh, that would be pretty,’” Sun said. ”So, I asked my friends. I texted my old friends from elementary school, ‘Hey, what kind of building do you want?’ Or, Would you like a billboard?’ So I reached out to friends that go to different high schools, so if you look closely, you’ll see their names on the buildings you chose.”

After the honor, Sun was ready to see what the future held, inside and outside the school.

“I love Mrs. Cox,” Sun said. “She’s the teacher I’ve had for the longest, and there are so many different classes and paths that you can take.”

Sun said she loved the school’s art program.

“It’s so fun seeing the art that other people create,” Sun said. “I always wanted to do art, and winning this feels so cool because I’m like, ‘Oh, I can actually do something with this.’ I believe a lot more in myself.”

The art department celebrated the accomplishment.

“It’s exciting because the student gets to have their work displayed in our capitol for a year, so that’s pretty fun,” art teacher Chelle Cox said. “This piece was also selected for the University of Central Missouri High School competition, too, so she’s gotten two awards for the same piece. She put a lot of work into that piece.”