Julia from Germany smiles proudly in front of her work at the Holland Museum in Michigan

Last week, an Aspect exchange student’s artwork was featured at the Holland Museum in Michigan.

The talented artist is Julia from Germany.

“It was a school project in US History. We had to represent our own definition of ‘What is an American.’ Then, we voted for the best one in class, and mine won!”

Julia says her representation was inspired by America’s immigration history that she learned in class.

“Many Americans have relatives all around the world or their ancestors come from somewhere. I have talked to many girls who are on the swim team with me, and most of them have relatives somewhere around the world. So [with the flags,] I tried to represent that many Americans have more than only one nationality.”

On the head figure that represents America, Julia drew in all 196 flags of the world. “That was so much work,” she laughs. “It was to show that America is multicultural.”

Then on the scarf that wraps around the head, Julia drew the American flag and painted on top the words, ‘One Nation.’ “The scarf symbolizes that even though they are from all over the world, America is still one nation,” she concludes.

The Holland Museum Tweeted that the student exhibit was a great success.