To whoever is reading this my name is Amaya Michelle Bowman, I am a first generation college student and am currently studying Interior Design at the University of North Texas. I started my college career at Collin Community, and spent two years working on my Associates in Liberal Arts. I then took a gap year and moved back to my hometown of College Station to save up for the Interior Design program at UNT. During my gap year I took a job at a small elementary school as a Reading Instructor. After my gap year I moved back to the Dallas area to pursue my passion of design and will continue to work towards my goal of one day starting my own practice. This passion started in highschool when I was a freshman, I was recruited to help start a youth leadership cabinet with the organization United Way. My time was spent at fundraisers, profit shares, and other events we organized to raise money for non-profits in our community. My first two years in this organization were spent as a general member, I learned useful skills like coordination and collaboration, communication and adaptability. My third year with United Way I was elected secretary, and my fourth year I was elected co-president, in these positions I was mentored to be a leader and honed my skills of problem-solving and management. Through each of these positions I found a passion in connecting with my community, and finding something that is bigger than myself that I can be of service to. With my degree of Interior Design I am aiming to work for firms that build, and refurbish schools to create safe and enriching environments for students. As the world continues to develop we have remained stagnant in education, keeping by the same rules waiting for different outcomes. My goal is to build a career in designing and developing spaces for students that create community and encourage independent practices, giving students control over their education. Through these independent practices it provides clear classroom management, reduces the workload on educators and gives opportunity to targeted instruction. Our communities start with the youngest of us all, they will always inherit and succeed the older generations. By providing structure and improving our education system it will develop strong, independent, and competent leaders in the community. If I have learned anything from United Way is that people just want to be seen, heard, and understood, I believe that we can give better opportunities to our communities if we start at the very beginning. As funding my education is the only drawback from continuing my Interior Design program, this scholarship will aid that stress and financial need. I am grateful that I have found passion in many different things which have led me to this career path, however, I need help to get there as well. Although this scholarship doesn’t cover all costs, it will prevent my journey from ending at the starting line. I thank you for this opportunity.

There are moments in life that I tend to look back on when I’m asked why I chose my current career path. A few of these moments I still look fondly on, and others I have become indifferent to as they stand as reminders of negative but pivotal moments in my education. My love of learning has become an enigma as I never feel satiated, but it drives me in everything I do. Even if curiosity killed the cat, the cat danced with curiosity still, as it didn’t shy away from the end but instead embraced it as it knew there was more to life. It is difficult to determine what exactly has shaped my idea of learning and classroom curiosity, but I’d like to think that part of the appeal began when I was in the eighth grade. I was taking an advanced algebra class, and a family friend, Mrs. Ryon, was my instructor. Ryon was a big advocate for progressive learning and focused on keeping the classroom engaged at all times. We were a few weeks into the school year when Ryon told the class that she was writing a proposal for a classroom grant, the grant was meant to budget for new furniture. Our class was tasked with writing as to why new furniture would implement new learning techniques and build community within the classroom. In the end we received the grant and Ryon created an activity that allowed for students to agree on a list of furniture that we would enjoy in the classroom, and it not only encouraged interaction amongst my peers but it was also a learning opportunity for budgeting, and problem-solving. I believe that education is meant to be an enlightening experience for students, as schools are an opportunity for students to gain greater knowledge about the world outside their four walls. These experiences serve as a reminder, during this time of mass overturn within education systems, that the passion and willingness is strong in most teachers, however, more support is needed to not only improve but change the course in which educators teach. With my degree in Interior Design it is my passion to help design or redesign new and existing schools. Although the design of the school is only one step, it is my way of providing for the community. Even though this is not the first or last experience inside the classroom that may shape my outlook on the world I continue to be curious.

To whoever is reading this my name is Amaya Michelle Bowman, I am a first generation college student and am currently studying Interior Design at the University of North Texas. I started my college career at Collin Community, and spent two years working on my Associates in Liberal Arts. I then took a gap year and moved back to my hometown of College Station to save up for the Interior Design program at UNT. During my gap year I took a job at a small elementary school as a Reading Instructor. After my gap year I moved back to the Dallas area to pursue my passion of design and will continue to work towards my goal of one day starting my own practice. This passion started in highschool when I was a freshman, I was recruited to help start a youth leadership cabinet with the organization United Way. My time was spent at fundraisers, profit shares, and other events we organized to raise money for non-profits in our community. My first two years in this organization were spent as a general member, I learned useful skills like coordination and collaboration, communication and adaptability. My third year with United Way I was elected secretary, and my fourth year I was elected co-president, in these positions I was mentored to be a leader and honed my skills of problem-solving and management. Through each of these positions I found a passion in connecting with my community, and finding something that is bigger than myself that I can be of service to. With my degree of Interior Design I am aiming to work for firms that build, and refurbish schools to create safe and enriching environments for students. As the world continues to develop we have remained stagnant in education, keeping by the same rules waiting for different outcomes. My goal is to build a career in designing and developing spaces for students that create community and encourage independent practices, giving students control over their education. Through these independent practices it provides clear classroom management, reduces the workload on educators and gives opportunity to targeted instruction. Our communities start with the youngest of us all, they will always inherit and succeed the older generations. By providing structure and improving our education system it will develop strong, independent, and competent leaders in the community. If I have learned anything from United Way is that people just want to be seen, heard, and understood. I believe that we can give better opportunities to our communities if we start at the very beginning. As funding my education is the only drawback from continuing my Interior Design program, this scholarship will aid that stress and financial need. I am grateful that I have found passion in many different things which have led me to this career path, however, I need help to get there as well. Although this scholarship doesn’t cover all costs, it will prevent my journey from ending at the starting line. I thank you for this opportunity.

To whoever is reading this my name is Amaya Michelle Bowman, I am a first generation college student and am currently studying Interior Design at the University of North Texas. I started my college career at Collin Community, and spent two years working on my Associates in Liberal Arts. I then took a gap year and moved back to my hometown of College Station to save up for the Interior Design program at UNT. During my gap year I took a job at a small elementary school as a Reading Instructor. After my gap year I moved back to the Dallas area to pursue my passion of design and will continue to work towards my goal of one day starting my own practice. This passion started in highschool when I was a freshman, I was recruited to help start a youth leadership cabinet with the organization United Way. My time was spent at fundraisers, profit shares, and other events we organized to raise money for non-profits in our community. My first two years in this organization were spent as a general member, I learned useful skills like coordination and collaboration, communication and adaptability. My third year with United Way I was elected secretary, and my fourth year I was elected co-president, in these positions I was mentored to be a leader and honed my skills of problem-solving and management. Through each of these positions I found a passion in connecting with my community, and finding something that is bigger than myself that I can be of service to. With my degree of Interior Design I am aiming to work for firms that build, and refurbish schools to create safe and enriching environments for students. As the world continues to develop we have remained stagnant in education, keeping by the same rules waiting for different outcomes. My goal is to build a career in designing and developing spaces for students that create community and encourage independent practices, giving students control over their education. Through these independent practices it provides clear classroom management, reduces the workload on educators and gives opportunity to targeted instruction. Our communities start with the youngest of us all, they will always inherit and succeed the older generations. By providing structure and improving our education system it will develop strong, independent, and competent leaders in the community. If I have learned anything from United Way is that people just want to be seen, heard, and understood, I believe that we can give better opportunities to our communities if we start at the very beginning.

It’s not an uncommon occurrence for high school to be a time of cliche cycles and the whirlwind of proximity relationships and state testing. As someone who moved both houses and schools multiple times I always struggled to find a sense of community with my peers. It wasn’t until highschool that I felt truly isolated and I struggled quite a bit. However, halfway through freshman year I was recruited to participate in a youth cabinet for United Way. It was an organization that was meant to encourage community connectedness between younger generations and teach leadership skills. During my time I was a general member, secretary and a co-president and organized raffles, silent auctions, community garage sales, and profit shares. My small world between the four school walls had grown exponentially. These events put into perspective the need in my community, and it had humbled me from a young age. I made friends with businesses and people in my community that made me believe that the world wasn’t as small as I had once believed it was, and it drives my passion for my career now. As I continue my interior design program I am determined to find or create an opportunity to design schools. I find hope in the future and it starts with our younger generations. They are the ones that will continue to succeed every generation, and the one way we can continue to prevail as a society is through community. United Way showed me that there are things greater than myself and as I once felt fulfillment in helping my community I will continue to strive for that in my future.

Childhoods are a fickle tale because it isn't until much later that people come to terms of what actually happened. I moved around a lot as a youngling, I remember my first major move being in eighth grade. As cliche as it sounds, I had trouble making new friends, and it wasn't until I met my lifelong best friend on the school bus did I feel a part of the schools community. I don't remember much other than being stuck next to the troublesome kids to help their attitude or the online harassment I received online by some mean girls in my class. I never let my kindness or personality waver, and wasn't afraid to have a big personality. It wasn't until high school, during my freshman year that I experienced my first assault. There was much fallout with friends and family that either didn't believe me or didn't want to deal with the situation. That was the first time I felt myself waver in who I was as it wasn't how I had pictured by first year in highschool. There was a social media page dedicated to me where people could anonymously talk about me, my drill team coach forced me off the team because of the fallout, and I spent more time in a counselor's office than I did a classroom, but I was given the opportunity by a faculty member to join a company that worked with non-profit organizations around the community. I ended up falling in love with the work we did and trusted myself to pursue the leaderships roles of secretary and co-president. This is a time when I learned that there were always going to be moments in life that are out of my control, but I had control of how I handled myself. I met amazing members of my community, pushed my limits, and even spoke on the news. It was the first time in my life that I experienced a fulfilling role in helping others, and I grew into a version of myself that I never thought possible. I am going to school for an interior design degree in hopes to one day work along architecture firms to design and develop schools. I want to be able to create a safe and rich environment for all members of the community, because even though I may not have had the best experience growing up, if I could change the course of one students journey by providing this space, I don't I could be more fulfilled.