Freshman Samantha Malzahn is an anime artist, who creates characters and weaves stories out of them.

How were you first introduced to anime, and how did you feel about it?

I was first introduced, actually when I first saw when I saw one of my friends drawing, and I asked her what exactly it was, and she explained it to me, and I thought it would be really cool to try out, so I did.

What made you get involved in anime?

It’s a very popular genre, and all of my friends were doing it, so i just decided to try it. And I found it to be really fun, so I really just stuck with it because of that.

When and why did you start drawing these incredible characters?

Most of them are made up, some of them are fan art. It’s basically off the top of my head. Sometimes i get inspirations from some random things I see, but most of the time they’re in my head and I just go “Hey, that’d be awesome to draw,” so I do.

Is this what you want to do in life?

Actually, believe it or not no, I plan on making this just a hobby. Of course a lot of people say I should, so I might, but I really want to be a marine biologist. I do draw pictures of sharks, but that’s in a whole different sketchbook.

How do you handle stress?

I usually try to think about what exactly is causing the stress, and depending on what it is, I either try to tackle it head on, or dumb it down.