Carleigh Sion ’12

From her days studying in Randall Library to painting a mural in the new Discovery Hall, alumna Carleigh Sion ’12 has significantly contributed to the evolution of UNCW’s campus in her own way. 

Sion was selected to paint a new mural in The Lookout, a lounge area located on the third floor of the new Discovery Hall. The hall, which opened Aug. 15, 2024, is the latest addition to the UNCW Library. The state-of-the-art facility provides numerous new spaces designed to enhance student success. It includes an event space with an adjacent exhibit area, a data visualization and analysis lab, an enhanced and enlarged makerspace, a recording studio and a virtual reality space. The new building is also the home of the Center for Southeast North Carolina Archives and History.   

“I feel honored that my work is now a permanent addition in UNCW’s Discovery Hall,” said Sion. “I used to spend so much time in the library when I was a student.” 

As an alumna, Sion felt no hesitation to be part of this project.  

“I loved bringing a little fun reprieve to an otherwise serious and serene space,” she said. 

The mural took Sion nearly three weeks to complete and was her first artwork on campus as a professional artist. She took inspiration from the university’s location. 

“My inspiration was to portray coastal North Carolina flora and fauna in the form of a modern illustrative take on Japanese wallpaper,” she said. 

One of her goals for the piece was to represent the eastern North Carolina environment that she loves. Sion also involved students in her process for creating the mural. 

“The whole building is beautiful, but The Lookout is such a breath of fresh air without literally going outside. I feel students can go in there, relax and take a brain break. I hope the art is just a fun way to take a recess from focusing on assignments and studying,” Sion said. 

Sion has been artistic since childhood and knew in college that she wanted to pursue a career in art. She graduated from UNCW with a degree in elementary education, with a goal to eventually be an art teacher.  

“Along with an education degree, I had a visual arts concentration. So, in that straightforward way, it helped me on that direct art path. Indirectly, being accepted to UNCW urged me to move away from my hometown, grow up, adapt and change into this person I may not have been otherwise,” she said.