Class of 2020: Yorba Linda Senior Priscilla Soto Updates Senior Portraits In Wake Of Coronavirus Pandemic

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — For many graduates, a senior portrait in cap and gown is a keepsake that will forever signify the end of a chapter, but in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, one high school senior is putting her own spin on the tradition.

"The first artist I've ever met in my life would have to be my dad," Priscilla Soto, a Yorba Linda senior, said. "He's a tattoo artist."

Soto might have inherited that artistic gene from her father, but she said years of art instruction at Yorba Linda High School honed her talent.

"I've had amazing teachers in the past," she said.

She said the cancellation of the remainder of her senior year, including prom and graduation, was a heartbreaking disappointment.

"But I've learned to cope through my art and express that emotion on paper," Soto said.

The senior has stayed busy putting her pencil to work and capturing a moment in history by incorporating face coverings into sketched portraits of her fellow classmates.

"I'd say the mask adding onto the portrait definitely adds a powerful message to the disappointment and non-expression look with how we must be feeling right now as a class," Soto said.

And the commissions are coming in.

"I've done four portraits so far, including mine, and I'm currently working on a fifth one along with a bunch of other requests," she said. "All donations go to my college fund."

Soto said people should take this time to discover something new that they love or express their grief through creativity.

"We definitely are all in this together," she said. "Not only as the senior class, but the entire world really.

Soto's mom, Nora, is accepting commissions on her daughter's behalf. More information can be found on her Instagram account.

If you are, or know of a Southern California senior, and feel that they deserve some extra recognition, complete the online form to be recognized on air.