A Girl and Her Dragon

If you’ve spent any amount of time around MCA theater, you know there’s a certain kind of magic that happens behind the scenes that doesn’t ask for attention but quietly makes everything work. Emilie [and her dragon] is a big part of that story. A 2025 MCA graduate, Emilie’s always been more comfortable building than talking, thinking in shapes and structures instead of sentences.

Emilie’s instinct to create something out of nothing showed up in a big way during MCA's 2025 play, The Hobbit, when she found herself saying yes to a challenge that felt just big enough. “I went to see Wayne [MCA’s theater director],” she began, “and I knew they had The Hobbit coming up. [...] So I decided to see if he needed any help with it and he was like, ‘Yeah! We have this dragon from this other play, but it would be really great if you could make us a new one if you have the time.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, let’s go for it!’”

What followed was Smaug—a beautifully built, crimson dragon that perfectly showcased Emilie’s skills. “We had a little brainstorm session,” Emilie said, “about what we thought was a good idea for it. So, the head is… it’s like a PVC pipe skeleton so that the jaw can move and it can be stable. And then I kind of just went for it making the head,” she laughed, “and made it out of cardboard. I kind of drew out what I wanted and then I kinda just winged it,” she shrugged, “building it based off that. Adding pieces, taking away stuff where it didn’t quite work, and… yeah!” Emilie’s humble about her expertise, but her ability to make something out of nothing is unmatched.

Emilie has a deep love for building things, yet it didn’t begin with the dragon. “Since I was little, I was just always building stuff. [...] I definitely get it from my dad—he loves to build stuff.” And since those early years, Emilie’s passion for art has only grown. “I love art—all kinds. [...] In the past year that I was in high school, my senior year, I joined theater and did some set stuff. I had a lot of fun,” she paused, “I never really did that before.”

Over time, opportunities began to stack up as Emilie became a key part of making sure the plays The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and The Wizard of Oz went off without a hitch. Helping with things like building the stage, managing stage crew, and various other set projects gave Emilie experience in most everything that happens behind the scenes of a successful production.

That passion and growth didn’t happen in a vacuum, though. Emilie credits MCA with giving her both the practical grounding and creative freedom to become who God created her to be. “Life skills and figuring out what I wanted to do for college was really helpful,” Emilie said of one of her biggest takeaways from her time at Maranatha. “[...] They [the staff] were really helpful there. And then, of course, Mrs. Nelson, is my favorite teacher ever.

I love Mrs. Nelson—she’s great and always supports my art and all my shenanigans.

Reflecting on her time in Mrs. Nelson's art studio, Emilie continued, “I got to have a lot of freedom in her class to do kind of what I wanted and just build stuff—make cool things. [...] Since I was little I was just always building stuff. But art class definitely helped cause she [Mrs. Nelson] helped me explore new mediums and different things I could do.”

Now, Emilie is holding her future a little more loosely—and intentionally so. After trying interior design in college as a way to merge her creativity with a desire to have a career, she soon realized, “I don’t want design to become work. I want to do it for fun and not be burnt out all the time.”

And so, instead, Emilie’s chosen to give herself space to explore. “See if maybe I could try some new things. I don’t know if there’s little theater companies or something [...] kind of explore that. Try new things, basically.”

Whatever may be next, Emilie is just excited to have found her passion in life and is excited to see what opportunities it brings her way as she leans in on and trusts in God.

When asked what advice she’d give to a current student of MCA, Emilie kept it simple. “Just… it goes by quick. You know, you’re there, and it seems like forever, and then all of a sudden you’re done! So just cherish it while you’re young.” And that’s exactly what Emilie has been doing since graduation—cherishing every moment, enjoying every day, and living life excited to see where God takes her and her giftings next.