For more than 50 years, the Woodlands Individualized Senior Experience (WISE) program has empowered students to pursue their passions through authentic, self-directed learning. Guided by WISE Coordinators Ms. Angilletta and Mr. Greaves, students design individualized projects that encourage exploration, reflection, mentorship, and real-world experience.
This year, Woodlands High School senior Dia Dora Pinnix transformed a longtime interest in cosplay into a WISE project that combined artistic expression, historical research, hands-on craftsmanship, and real-world exploration.
During the WISE Model Presentation, Dia Dora showcased the process of designing and creating a cosplay costume. Throughout the project, she documented her work through journaling, research, and progress photos while learning from mentor Ms. Cinquemani and engaging with the broader cosplay community.
Her research explored costume construction techniques, convention and fandom culture, the experiences of cosplayers, and the psychology and historical roots of the art form.
“It’s interesting to frame cosplay as a recent phenomenon, but really it’s something people have done throughout history,” Dia Dora said. “It just took different shapes and different names.”
Her presentation documented each stage of the costume's development, from studying character reference materials to constructing and assembling individual costume elements. Through a series of progress photos, Dia Dora showcased the embroidery work incorporated into the costume, the sewing and shaping of the character's hat and cape, the styling of a custom wig, and the construction of a prop dagger. The presentation concluded with images of the finished cosplay alongside the original character design, highlighting the attention to detail and craftsmanship involved in bringing the character to life.
For Dia Dora, cosplay has been a growing interest for years. She traces her earliest exposure back to age eight, when her mother took her to New York Comic Con, where she dressed as Twilight Sparkle from My Little Pony. By her early teens, cosplay had become a meaningful creative outlet.
A student who enjoys painting, drawing, and other visual arts, Dia Dora found that cosplay allowed her to combine multiple creative disciplines into a single project.
“Cosplay covers a lot of those aspects,” she said. “I really enjoyed making it and being able to combine these different artistic skills I wanted to learn and improve on.”
According to Ms. Angilletta, the project exemplified the original spirit of the WISE program by extending learning beyond the classroom.
“She brought back what the root of WISE was, which is going out, experiencing, and learning not just from books and articles, but from real experiences,” Ms. Angilletta said.
As part of her project, Dia Dora attended a cosplay convention, giving her the opportunity to experience the culture firsthand and connect her research to a real-world setting.
“She went to a convention, experienced the culture firsthand, and got to showcase what she created,” Ms. Angilletta said. “That experiential learning is what WISE is all about.”
The project also helped Dia Dora explore future possibilities. This fall, she will attend Rochester Institute of Technology, where she plans to study painting in the School of Art. She hopes to continue developing her artistic talents while exploring a variety of creative career paths.
Reflecting on the experience, Dia Dora expressed gratitude for the opportunity to pursue a project that was both personally meaningful and creatively challenging.
“I was really glad I did it,” she said. “If I had the choice to do it again knowing what I know now, I would definitely do it again.”