Michael Linsangan's mother moved the family from the Philippines when he was 13 and inspired him to pursue his love for art."Mine is on the ceiling over there," 6th grader Brissa Mejia said pointing across the room to her tile painting."It's like a Micky and Minnie Mouse kissing.""Since I was in about middle school, their age, I kinda got into drawing as my passion," Linsangan said."I liked to do it.
Linsangan, known to his students as 'Mr. L', was his students' age when his mother moved the family from the Philippines for better opportunities. "She definitely is the backbone of why I'm here now and teaching, especially in a female school," Linsangan said."This is what I want to do."LocalLinsangan's philosophy is every student in his classroom is an artist."When you create something from nothing, you're an artist," he said."It gets me kind of excited because your painting can turn out good. It can look good," Mia Balderas said."And you can show it off.
"It reminds me of what my mom always wanted me to do, basically, is try to, you know, always help others," Linsangan said."That makes me smile. It's like I'm doing something right."