In August 2023, I created a checklist in my Notes app titled “Goals, Dreams, Wishes.” It wasn’t a super long list, but it was mostly business-related goals like design a book cover, have a booth at a specific arts festival, start selling wholesale, etc. Then there were two items on the checklist that, at the time, felt like faraway dreams: create artwork for the Pittsburgh Penguins and attend a game as a guest of a team because of my artwork. Well, I have news for August 2023 Alana - March 2026 Alana just checked off both of those items. Here’s the story…
Flip back to January 2026. A little bit of personal information: I had been struggling with a depressive episode since May 2025. I had been on the go during the 2024–25 hockey season, and when it abruptly ended for me and my team in April 2025, everything that kept me busy stopped. But life kept moving for most everyone else. I felt very isolated during the summer, which brought my mood down a great deal, and that heaviness stuck with me even when exciting things started back up in the fall. At my lowest, I was in Stockholm, Sweden in November 2025 on a dream trip, and I felt like such a burden to myself and to the world. I returned home and immediately went into serious treatment for my depression. By January 2026, I was still struggling, but I could see glimpses of better days.
On January 12th, I received an email from the contact form on my website. I got the notification as I was walking from my bedroom to the living room, where my husband, Jimmy, was. I pulled out my phone, saw it was a contact form submission, and immediately rolled my eyes. “Ugh, another person saying their order hasn’t arrived when it was probably shipped two days ago.” (Yes, that’s most of the emails I get.) But my eye roll immediately turned into sobs and a tiny bit of hyperventilating because the email was from the Pittsburgh Penguins. They introduced themselves, said they found me through a recommendation, and asked if I’d be interested in designing the ticket package shirt for Her Hockey Day.
My dream was sitting right there in my inbox.
Of course, I immediately said yes, and we were off to work. I actually designed most of the shirt later that same evening. This was the first time a project felt so right. I truly knew in my heart that it was meant for me, and I never once worried about being creative with the design.
The middle part of the story is slightly boring. Well… I’ll take that back. It includes an already scheduled trip to Pittsburgh where I survived a snowstorm in a hotel, went to Night of Assists for the first time, MET KYLE DUBAS!, and saw a blowout victory against the Blackhawks.
But the other “middle” part was refining the design into the final version that I’m still so in love with. I taught myself how to use Adobe Illustrator to turn my Procreate files into vector files, and I became heavily educated in the world of Pantone colors. And the most fun part (serious sarcasm) was going back and forth with the production company over the silliest things. Unfortunately, that’s pretty common when you’re trusting a third party to reproduce your art. Was the final product absolutely perfect? No. They still messed up a few things. But did that matter at the end of the day? No. My shirt was still perfect to me.
I ended up flying to Pittsburgh super last minute to film an interview feature. And it was last minute. I received the email to schedule it on my birthday, Monday, March 9th. At that time, I already had a trip planned to Georgia from Thursday, March 12th through Monday, March 16th for my brother’s wedding. By Wednesday morning, my entire flight schedule was thrown out the window. I went to Georgia as planned, then flew to Pittsburgh on Sunday the 15th, filmed on Monday the 16th, and flew back to Austin on Tuesday the 17th.
The interview was a whirlwind. It didn’t hit me until after I left the Penguins administrative offices that I had actually experienced it. Seeing my shirt in person for the first time was overwhelming, but I loved it immediately. I did have a few moments later that night thinking about what wasn’t perfect, but I’m grateful those feelings passed quickly. I also went through the very normal “I should have said this” spiral afterward. But I’m so thankful for the producers and editors who made my feature video turn out so well. I sounded confident, and they wove everything together beautifully.
My trip home was chaotic - canceled flights, missed connections, delays - but I was still riding such a high from the experience that I let it all roll off my back.
Just a few days later, on Friday, March 20th, I flew to Atlanta, picked up my sister, and we flew to Pittsburgh together. It was her first trip there, and I’m happy to say she loved it, and we have a new Penguins fan! It meant so much to have her there, especially for Her Hockey Day on Sunday, March 22nd. We did have a tiny hiccup trying to pop champagne on one of the bridges… only to realize we’d been sold white wine instead. But my sister is a champ - she talked me down from a mini meltdown and took some of the BEST photos and videos of me on the Roberto Clemente Bridge.
We arrived at PPG Paints Arena with our shirts on and sticker packs bursting out of our bags. While waiting in line, someone asked how we already had the shirts — and I proudly said, “I designed it!” (I think I caught her off guard.) Inside, we took photos with my friend Lindsay, saw my stickers in the Her Hockey Day auction, and I treated myself to a mystery puck (Anthony Mantha - hell yes!). We were escorted to the Casamigos Club, where I grabbed an IC Light, a hot dog, and an Iceburgh sugar cookie - the perfect pregame snack.
Then came one of the most surreal experiences: riding on the Fanboni. If there weren’t photos and videos, I wouldn’t believe it happened. It was incredible and over way too quickly.
The game itself… well, you saw the score. I joked that the team just wanted to celebrate my project instead of play hockey. But truly, being at a Penguins game - win or loss - is one of the most perfect places to be. I saw my feature video on the jumbotron (this is when I SOBBED), saw people wearing my design, spent time with friends, and even had two run-ins with Iceburgh. It was surreal, dreamy, and perfect.
It took me a while to believe it was all real, but I feel it now. I had a front-row seat to my dream coming true.
This team and this community mean the world to me. I became a fan in high school, and it was the first time I felt true belonging, something that has only grown over the last 17 years. I’ve always felt accepted in this community, no matter my gender, where I’m from, or how long I’ve been a fan.
I want others to feel that too. I want every female fan to know that they belong in this sport and in this community. Hockey would not exist without incredible women being involved. This sport isn’t perfect - we’ve seen that this season - but women are STRONG. Sunflowers, the main symbol in my design, represent joy, strength, and loyalty. Those are traits women in hockey embody every day. I hope my design brought joy to those who wore it, and that it reminds every woman who sees it that they belong.
Going back to my story at the beginning: did this project cure my depression? No. It didn’t magically change my life. What did change my life was the work I had already started doing on myself with my mental health team. If I hadn’t done that work, I wouldn’t have been able to complete this project. I would have believed I wasn’t good enough. This project allowed me to practice what I’ve been learning, and I’m proud to say that I am good enough for this and anything that comes next.
The biggest thank you in the world to the Pittsburgh Penguins for this opportunity. This was my dream come true, and it’s sparked a dozen more dreams. There are 31 other NHL teams that need a design by Alana… plus the PWHL, AHL, ECHL, and more. And I will always be cheering for the NHL to return to the Peach State, and they’ll definitely need a Georgia-born designer when they do.
An extra thank you to Jess at Happy Lil Canvases! Jess designed the Pride shirt from this season, and she was the person who recommended me for the project when the Penguins were asking for artist suggestions. It is the biggest compliment to me to have a fellow artist speak my name for an opportunity, especially THIS opportunity!
Thank you for taking the time to read about my adventure. If you’d love a souvenir from this adventure, check out the stickers below from my Her Hockey Collection!
Let’s Go Pens!
– Alana
