A young woman whose parents work on Fort Huachuca is helping the Sierra Vista Police Department take a bite out of crime through her artwork.
Makenzie Sargent, 18, was one of two students whose ideas were blended together to create a colorful new logo and poster the police department is using as part of their Crime Solvers program. The posters will be displayed in area buildings to show that the business actively works with the SVPD to identify and arrest criminals. The logo appears on the Crime Solvers website.
Makenzie is the daughter of retired Army 1st Sgt. David and Lillian Sargent who both work on post. Her mother is an instructor for the Captains Career Course, 111th Military Intelligence Brigade and her father works as a contractor. When she was a senior at Buena High School last year, Makenzie and other art students entered the police department's contest at the prompting of an art teacher.
"I drew a picture of an eagle with one eye showing and one faded," Makenzie said. "You can see the shadow [in his eye] of a person running away. I wanted to use an eagle and a human, but I wanted the eagle to be bigger than the person," she said, adding that this was how she got the idea to show the individual as a reflection in the bird's eye.
The poster features an American eagle against a stars-and-stripes background and is the most recent element in SVPD's Crime Solvers program. The program, launched in January of this year, seeks the community's help to identify caught-on-camera criminals, whose images are posted online at SierraVistaAZ.gov.
"Since the photographs have been posted on the website, we have received tips that have led to the identification and arrest of five suspects," said Cpl. Scott Borgstadt, public information officer for SVPD. "Now we want criminals to know that local businesses and the police are working together to identify and arrest them.
"All of the [poster] ideas were great, but two really stood out," Borgstadt says. "Ultimately, we decided to blend the two concepts together to make a strong, eye-catching piece." The two ideas chosen were submitted by Makenzie Sargent and Kayla Moss.
This isn't Makenzie's first time creating detailed pictures. She said she's been drawing since she was young, and her mother said arts and crafts were favored activities even as early as preschool. She has had artwork on display in various public locations throughout her years in middle and high school.
The teenager would like to become a dental hygienist and is currently working at two jobs to raise money for tuition. She plans to stay involved with art and recently sold her first drawing. She also has a commission to make a cake sculpture.
"I like to draw things that are not realistic such as fairies, skulls and hawks, a little of everything," the artist said.
"I'm only 18 and people are already interested in purchasing my art!" Makenzie exclaimed.
It should be interesting for those who know her to see where her career path leads.
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