Osceola County, Fla. — The Osceola County Clerk’s Office has come up with a new plan to brighten up the Osceola County Courthouse.

What You Need To Know

  • Student artwork is now being displayed the Osceola County Courthouse

  • Officials say the goal is to make the courthouse environment less stressful and more inviting

  • Luendy Melo-Oller, a senior at Tohopekaliga High School, says the program is important to her

Dozens of paintings and art from students at Tohopekaliga High School will be displayed on the second floor of the courthouse. Officials say the goal is to transform the perception of government to an inviting, brighter and calming place.

Luendy Melo-Oller, a senior at Tohopekaliga High School, produced a piece that will be displayed at the Osceola County Courthouse.

“I was excited," she said. "I told my mom right away once I got home, and then she was like, ‘Oh my God, what are you going to wear?'”

Melo-Oller is originally from the Dominican Republic, and her mom said she remembers Luendy as a 3-year-old who showed a talent for art.

“At first I got mad, because I got home from work my mom was taking care of her, and I found all the bedroom walls filled with art and figures,” said Wendy Oller.

Melo-Oller said she draws inspiration from real life and her imagination. She has dozens of paintings and digital art stored in her room.

One of her digital art pieces will make it to the courthouse. She’s showcasing a different era, a teen in the 1980s talking on a telephone.

“I hope when they see it they can feel like, ‘Wow that looks amazing, it makes me feel a certain kind of way,'” said Melo-Oller.

The clerk’s office has commissioned 22 pieces that will be installed on the second floor.

“The clerk’s goal is really twofold: it’s to help showcase the art from our students around the school district, and also to make sure that individuals who are here at the courthouse are having as pleasant as experience as they can,” said Tyler Wink, a spokesperson for the Osceola County Clerk’s Office. “Not everyone wants to be here every day for whatever purpose they might be here, unless they’re getting a passport or marriage license, but having art such as this really helps brighten the day of people visiting here.”

The grand opening of the N.E.S.T Gallery will be at the Osceola County Courthouse on May 10 from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Officials say the goal is to feature a new high school every six months.