For as long as she can remember, Maya Todorov ’26 has been creating.
Art arrived first. Long before she was exhibiting work in museums, earning national recognition and painting murals, she was drawing and painting simply because she loved it. A profound appreciation for science would follow.
"My parents are scientists," Maya said. "I looked up to them, but I thought what they were doing was so advanced that I would never be able to do it." That perception changed during her years at Pine Crest.
After arriving at the Boca Raton campus in eighth grade, Maya discovered that science was not something reserved for experts in laboratories. Through Pine Crest's three-year Science Research Program, it became something she could explore, question and pursue on her own. The experience helped reshape her understanding of herself.
"Science became something that I could do by myself and something that was actually attainable for me," she said. What makes Maya's journey remarkable is not simply that she excelled in both science and art. It is that she never felt compelled to choose between them.
While some students feel pressure to define themselves through a single passion, Maya built her identity around both. Pine Crest gave her room to do that.
Maya Todorov ’26, after earning a Founder's Council Award for Excellence in Art
She credits the support of her teachers, particularly those in the Science Research Program and visual arts instructor Mr. Nino Liguori, with creating an environment where curiosity could thrive. "They helped me every step of the way," she said. "I didn't feel overwhelmed."
That encouragement helped Maya develop into an accomplished researcher and an award-winning artist.
Over the past several years, her artwork has earned recognition at the local, regional and national levels. Her work won the Congressional Art Competition and was later requested for extended display by the congressman who selected it. She earned a National Silver Medal in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, was nominated for an American Visions Award and received the Arts for Life scholarship. Her artwork has been exhibited at museums across South Florida, including the Young At Art Museum and the NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale. She also completed a mural for a mental health center in Weston and sold multiple paintings and commissions during her senior year.
Maya's Congressional Art Award-winning piece "Wander": Oil pastel on canvas
Yet when asked which artistic accomplishment she is most proud of, Maya does not point to an award. Instead, she remembers the challenge of creating her first large-scale painting.
The piece measured 30 by 40 inches, far larger than anything she had attempted before. "It was a learning curve," she said. "But it was probably the most fun I've had."
The answer reveals something important about Maya. Her focus is rarely on recognition. She is most energized by growth, exploration and the opportunity to learn something new. That same mindset shaped her research experience.
For her senior project, Maya developed a simulation involving autonomous control systems for soft robots. In simpler terms, she created a virtual three-dimensional robot made from a flexible material and taught it to perform tasks independently.
"It was basically a block of Jell-O running around," she said with a laugh.
The project, formally titled “Model Predictive Control and Learning for Soft Robots in Simulation,” became her favorite research experience because it was the most self-directed. For the first time, she was not simply learning established concepts. She was building something entirely her own.
"Portrait of Death" was nominated for an American Visions Award by the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards
That combination of creativity and analytical thinking will continue next year at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where Maya plans to major in mathematics. Although MIT is known primarily for science and engineering, she has no intention of leaving art behind.
Oil painting remains her favorite medium, and she hopes to continue building her artistic practice alongside her academic studies. In many ways, that balance reflects the lesson she learned throughout her time at Pine Crest: meaningful interests do not have to compete with one another.
Perhaps no one helped reinforce that idea more than Mr. Liguori.
While Maya credits him with helping her grow as an artist, she says his influence extended far beyond technique. When she arrived in the Upper School, she was quiet and hesitant to put herself forward. Watching him interact with students, artists and community members helped her become more confident in her own voice.
"Art as a profession is a lot about networking and meeting people," she said. "I was not good at that." Over time, that changed. The art room became her second home. She claimed a corner for herself, transformed an unused table into a workspace and became part of a creative community that helped her feel comfortable taking risks.
Asked what she is most looking forward to at MIT, her answer reflects the same humility and intellectual curiosity that have defined her Pine Crest experience.
"I'm really excited to meet people who are so smart that they intimidate me," she said. "Sometimes being one of the least smart people in the room is actually the most helpful thing that you could do."
It is an answer that perfectly captures Maya's approach to learning. Whether through science, mathematics or art, she is always searching for the next challenge, the next question and the next opportunity to grow.
For younger students who share multiple passions, her advice is simple."Don't feel like you have to know everything now," she said. "Do exactly what you like. Do whatever you want to do. The rest will come naturally."
Maya's own journey is proof that sometimes the most rewarding path is the one that leaves room for all of your interests to grow together.