by Luke Butner

For the past four years, Sarai Acosta has been a quiet but unmistakable creative force behind the comics in The Collegian. Even as a double major in art and business with focuses in studio art and marketing, Acosta has spent eight semesters contributing to the paper—not with words, but with illustrations that brought stories to life and added a uniquely personal flair to the publication.

Acosta originally joined The Collegian on a whim. “I started off freshman year during orientation, PAWS… on the Collegian club poster [I saw] ‘get a $200 scholarship’ and I was like ‘alright, I am in!’” she laughs, “I immediately signed up, and then they told me ‘sorry, we can not give you the scholarship.’” Despite this setback, however, Acosta still showed up for The Collegian meetings and loved it.

During her first semester, Acosta decided she wanted to be an illustrator for The Collegian. Inspired by former illustrators Jonathan Abbey and Gavin Mann, she created her first comic series Wilderness Campus, based on the animal life around campus. Since the beginning, all of her comics have been hand-drawn, with each strip full of character and whimsy. She keeps every single one neatly filed away in a folder—a visual diary of her memories on staff.

Acosta got into comics in her very early years. “In elementary school, I used to draw my own comics,” she explained. “I [wanted] to be an illustrator… to publish a book, and growing up, that was my dream job.” She explained a story of how her and her younger brother would create stories together about imaginative battles using trading cards, drawing inspiration from Yu-Gi-Oh!®

Acosta’s artistic legacy at The Collegian extends beyond her art. Her commitment to her work makes her stand out among her peers. Whether it is for a humorous sketch, a thoughtful illustration, or a quick turnaround for a last-minute feature, staff members knew they could count on Sarai to deliver with both talent and heart. Acosta explained that her favorite memory of The Collegian is being nominated for awards at the prestigious NCCMA conference.

The Collegian, however, is just one piece of her broader creative journey. This semester, Acosta completed her senior honors thesis, a stunning hybrid of research and art titled “His Invisible Qualities Are Clearly Seen”, based on the verse Romans 1:20 from the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures. Acosta will be one of the first creative theses since GC Professor AJ Schraeder was an honors student. Her peers lauded Acosta as “setting a new standard” for future female creative students. The thesis is an extension of her senior art showcase.

Her senior art exhibition, deeply personal and spiritually rooted in her faith as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, included four sections: a space-themed planetarium built in honor of her baptism day; an earth-themed exploration of clouds and plant life; an animal-themed series celebrating her love for creatures like the shoebill stork and mantis shrimp; and a portrayal of Jehovah’s final days, from chaos to paradise. Acosta’s art is truly stunning, and it is currently on display in Cowan lobby.

Some of Sarai Acosta’s art work.

Outside of her academics and newspaper work, Acosta holds a part-time job at Dear Dad’s, a local Tex-Mex brunch spot. When she has a break from her crazy schedule, she enjoys indulging in Häagen-Dazs ice cream, watching YouTube before bed with Mithzan as a go-to and listening to podcasts like Tales from the Stinky Dragon and Distractible.

With graduation around the corner, Acosta is eyeing a future in graphic design. “I want something that makes money, but also something that I can actually enjoy doing,” she says, “Our digital marketing course… figuring out how to design websites, how to choose… design features and ads… It is just, it was a lot of fun.” With four years of consistent, heartfelt creative output under her belt, we believe Acosta is more than ready to turn that passion into a profession.

From pencil-on-paper comics to her breathtaking gallery work, Sarai Acosta’s legacy is proof that creativity, when heartfelt and shared, leaves a lasting impression on those around her.