Most people at twenty-one are learning their favorite drinks and touring bars. I was in the hospital undergoing tests, scans, and a biopsy procedure. I was working hard in college when in 2019, my world shifted. I dragged myself to the hospital because I was constantly ill, losing weight rapidly, and I felt like I couldn't breathe anymore. I was diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkin's lymphoma. I had to have my lungs drained of the lymphatic fluid surrounding them and causing them to collapse. The shock of being diagnosed with cancer right after turning twenty-one was unfathomable. I medically withdrew from my junior year in university to focus on my rapidly declining health. I went into treatment expecting that I would need six months of chemotherapy, and then I would be as good as new. But just a few weeks into treatment, the doctors could tell that my cancer was not reacting to the chemo. They switched to a more powerful chemo regimen that caused horrible side effects. I was constantly nauseous, losing my hair, and my blood counts would get so low that I would faint four days after treatment like clockwork. I underwent radiation treatment after finishing chemo. And yet scans showed that my cancer had grown back within the few weeks I was finished with treatment. I took the second diagnosis harder than the first. The first time, I knew something was wrong when I went to the hospital. I was expecting some unpleasant news. But the second time, I thought I was better. I went into my doctor's office anticipating good news, not ready to hear that I was still sick. My doctors plotted a course of treatment that would lead to a bone marrow transplant a few months later. They also discovered that I also had Stage 1 papillary thyroid cancer while preparing for the transplant. Removal of my thyroid was necessary, but the chemo impacted my immune system greatly. I would not be able to heal well from the surgery if it had happened while also in treatment, so it would have to wait. The pandemic started a month after my second diagnosis. Now I was battling cancer and avoiding a plague. The hospital took extreme caution to prevent patients from getting sick, but that meant that my bone marrow transplant had to happen in isolation. I spent twenty-three days alone in a hospital room with no visitors allowed. I was viciously ill and weak, yet the loneliness was the worst part of the experience. I spent so many hours alone with only nurse check-ups to relieve me from the void I felt. I still feel a wave of relief that I was allowed to leave that room. Following the transplant, I had another year of chemotherapy and needed the vaccinations given to newborns and toddlers redone. After finishing the chemo and getting revaccinated, I was finally well enough to undergo surgery. With my thyroid removed, I am finally in remission of all cancers and ready to return to university. At any point, it would have been easier to give in to the negative thoughts and feelings I had, cursing the heavens and lashing out at the world. But instead, I forged ahead, taking the piles of bad news I received in stride and staying optimistic. I've faced illness and stared at death, and I am still here. The challenges I have overcome these past three years have given me a new appreciation for life. I will live each new day grateful to be alive and confidently living my best life.

I always feel a tug. Just above the gut, fluttering along my bottom ribs. It could just be a hitch in my breathing, but I like to think the universe is saying, “That. That was a good thing.” When someone or something has influenced me, this tug pulls me towards action, often a shock of inspiration or a successful call to action realized. People close to me have told me that my positive outlook while undergoing hardship has influenced them to embrace more positivity in their own lives. I believe my kind nature and curious and creative core also impact the people around me. Like Jack, I have battled the foe that fights unfairly. The options presented to me were live or die, and I had little say in which would win. I have spent the past three years fighting cancer. I’ve been through five different chemo regimens, radiation, and a stem cell transplant during this time. I’ve had three biopsies and seven surgeries around my neck and chest. I medically withdraw from my junior year in university to focus on my rapidly declining health. I was diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkin’s lymphoma and stage 1 papillary thyroid cancer, and I am now in remission. The fear of the disease coming back is always in the back of my mind: but instead, I choose to focus on living a life that is passionate, fulfilling, and brightens others around me as I move forward. I aspire to be a Creative Concept director in animation. After I complete my degree in Virtual Technology and Design, I plan to enter the animation industry as a story artist and grow my career from there. Art has been a passion my entire life, and I am pursuing a life that will allow me to continue creating art and share unique stories with the world. I love coming up with characters and worlds, then diving into research to develop their personality and background with real-world cultural influences. I plan to bring to life diverse and developed characters and wonderous worlds that leave viewers wishing to see more. Receiving this scholarship would mean that my voice and my struggles connected with the legacy that Jack left behind. Reading about him makes me long to have known him, as I feel we would be kindred spirits. The scholarship funds would help to ease my financial burden. I juggled student loan repayments and medical bills for a hard season while in treatment, and I am now working to lessen that burden for myself.

I am the most excited and passionate when I am creating art. I started seriously improving my skills when I was nine. I had to search for an art teacher when I was young as there were no options for an art class within my elementary or middle school. I joined the 4-H club in the next village over because they happened to have an instructor with an art background. In high school, there were only six art classes offered throughout the four years, and I took them all. I was president of the art club my junior and senior years. I took every opportunity to improve my skills, often entering local contests and fairs to challenge myself. I have surrounded my life with art; I sought it out even while growing up in a rural area with limited resources. I knew I wanted to pursue an art career. I chose to major in Virtual Technology and Design to merge my passion for art with this technological age and pursue a career in animation as a story artist. I was happily moving forward in college when in 2019, my world shifted. I was diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkin’s lymphoma in the middle of my junior year of college. The shock of being diagnosed with cancer at the age of twenty-one was unfathomable. I medically withdrew from university to focus on my rapidly declining health. I finished six months of chemo but relapsed soon after completing radiation treatment and needed a stem cell transplant and fifteen more months of chemotherapy as an extreme effort to rid my body of the disease. While preparing for the transplant, doctors discovered that I also had Stage 1 papillary thyroid cancer. After three years of fighting cancer, I am fully in remission and ready to return to university. After I finish my degree in Virtual Technology and Design, I plan to enter the animation industry as a story artist and grow my career from there. Art has been a passion my entire life, and I am pursuing a life that will allow me to continue creating art and bring unique stories to life. Childhood movies sear themselves into our souls, teaching morals and empathy while entertaining us. Up shows the power of art and music in our society. The opening montage of Carl’s and Ellie’s life together has no dialogue yet moves many viewers to tears with the emotional story that plays. The music and changing moods of the movie lead the viewers on an emotional rollercoaster of highs and lows. The two characters dream, face challenges and setbacks, and grow ever older until the sequence ends with Ellie’s funeral, leaving viewers with dry throats and watery eyes. The awe-inspiring storytelling of that sequence inspired me to pursue a career in animation to create stories that affect people the way I was. I plan to bring to life diverse and developed characters and wonderous worlds that leave viewers wishing to see more.

I have always been talented with math and technology. However, I am the most passionate and excited when I create art. I grew up praised as gifted in school, both for my smarts and paintings. But then those same adults would tell me that artists make no money and that girls shouldn’t be in the technology. I believed that they were wrong and that I could combine my passion for art and storytelling and my skills in math and technology into a highly successful career in animation. I chose to major in Virtual Technology and Design with these goals in mind. Even though VTD is a majority of men, the few women in the class bonded and grew together, accomplishing our goals and progressing through the rigorous coursework. I was happily moving forward with my courses when in 2019, my world shifted. I was diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkin’s lymphoma in the middle of my junior year of college. The shock of being diagnosed with cancer at the age of twenty-one was unfathomable. I medically withdrew from university to focus on my rapidly declining health. I finished six months of chemo but relapsed soon after completing radiation treatment and needed a stem cell transplant and fifteen more months of chemotherapy as an extreme effort to rid my body of the disease. While preparing for the transplant, doctors discovered that I also had Stage 1 papillary thyroid cancer. After three years of fighting cancer, I am fully in remission and ready to return to university. After I finish my degree in Virtual Technology and Design, I plan to enter the animation industry as a story artist and grow my career from there. Art has been a passion my entire life, and I am pursuing a life that will allow me to continue creating art and bring unique stories to life. I plan to make a difference in the world with the stories I’ll bring to life. My goal may not seem lofty, but great stories are world-shifting indeed. Childhood movies sear themselves into our souls, teaching morals and empathy while entertaining us. I plan to create diverse and developed characters and wonderous worlds that leave viewers wishing to see more. The STEAM fields have always had a pull on me. Finding a way to combine my love of creating and the ever-expanding technological landscape led me to a career choice that melded my varying interests. Working in animation will give me contentment while adding value to the world. Someday my name will scroll through the credits of a well-loved movie that I poured my passion and talent into creating, and I will have helped make a difference in the world.

I am most passionate and excited when I am creating art. I love exploring new mediums and tools. My current projects include; learning embroidery and hand sewing, painting ceramics, and watercolor painting. I love creating with my hands and enjoy finding and trying new mediums and crafts. I am continuously improving my skills with traditional mediums and digital artwork. And while art might be my favorite category to find a new hobby, I also enjoy many other pastimes. I am learning to play the ukulele, and I have played the clarinet for over a decade. I grow and nourish succulents and cacti and have a beautiful indoor garden. I am very interested in financial wellness and personal development and enjoy bettering myself and my finances. I own a dog who I adore. I spend time training him to be well-behaved and training myself to understand his needs and find interesting outlets for his energy. I gravitate towards hobbies that allow me to create. Whether it's art, music, or life, I spend my free time engaging my hands and mind. I love researching to find the best way to live and also enjoy diving into artistic pursuits fueled by my imagination. My hobbies and passions helped me determine that I need art and creativity in my career and have pointed me towards being a story artist in animation.

Most people at twenty-one are learning their favorite drinks and touring bars. I was in the hospital undergoing tests, scans, and a biopsy procedure. I was working hard in college when in 2019, my world shifted. I dragged myself to the hospital because I was constantly ill, losing weight rapidly, and I felt like I couldn't breathe anymore. I was diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkin's lymphoma. I had to have my lungs drained of the lymphatic fluid surrounding them and causing them to collapse. The shock of being diagnosed with cancer right after turning twenty-one was unfathomable. I medically withdrew from my junior year in university to focus on my rapidly declining health. I went into treatment expecting that I would need six months of chemotherapy, and then I would be as good as new. But just a few weeks into treatment, the doctors could tell that my cancer was not reacting to the chemo. They switched to a more powerful chemo regimen that caused horrible side effects. I was constantly nauseous, losing my hair, and my blood counts would get so low that I would faint four days after treatment like clockwork. I underwent radiation treatment after finishing chemo. And yet scans showed that my cancer had grown back within the few weeks I was finished with treatment. I took the second diagnosis harder than the first. The first time, I knew something was wrong when I went to the hospital. I was expecting some unpleasant news. But the second time, I thought I was better. I went into my doctor's office anticipating good news, not ready to hear that I was still sick. My doctors plotted a course of treatment that would lead to a bone marrow transplant a few months later. They also discovered that I also had Stage 1 papillary thyroid cancer while preparing for the transplant. Removal of my thyroid was necessary, but the chemo impacted my immune system greatly. I would not be able to heal well from the surgery if it had happened while also in treatment, so it would have to wait. The pandemic started a month after my second diagnosis. Now I was battling cancer and avoiding a plague. The hospital took extreme caution to prevent patients from getting sick, but that meant that my bone marrow transplant had to happen in isolation. I spent twenty-three days alone in a hospital room with no visitors allowed. I was viciously ill and weak, yet the loneliness was the worst part of the experience. I spent so many hours alone with only nurse check-ups to relieve me from the void I felt. I still feel a wave of relief that I was allowed to leave that room. Following the transplant, I had another year of chemotherapy and needed the vaccinations given to newborns and toddlers redone. After finishing the chemo and getting revaccinated, I was finally well enough to undergo surgery. With my thyroid removed, I am finally in remission of all cancers and ready to return to university. At any point, it would have been easier to give in to the negative thoughts and feelings I had, cursing the heavens and lashing out at the world. But instead, I forged ahead, taking the piles of bad news I received in stride and staying optimistic. I've faced illness and stared at death, and I am still here. The challenges I have overcome these past three years have given me a new appreciation for life. I will live each new day grateful to be alive and confidently living my best life.

When I sat to paint this painting, doctors had recently told me that my cancer had grown back. I would need to start a much more aggressive treatment plan and prepare for a stem cell transplant in the coming summer. My mind was a black void. I turned to art to bring joy back into my life. After two decades of honing my skills, the first brushstroke to the canvas sends me into a flow state. My worries and dark thoughts dropped away as I blended colors and swirled paint across the canvas. I needed color in my life after receiving that devastating news. I was emotionally very turbulent, and it was suddenly vital my painting showed that same distress. The nearly even split between the warms and cools was to feel the disharmony in my life. I chose a tree for the subject to remind myself of the sturdiness I would need in my upcoming months. I am finally in remission and ready to return to university. After I finish my degree in Virtual Technology and Design, I plan to enter the animation industry as a story artist and grow my career from there. Art has been a passion my entire life, and I am pursuing a life that will allow me to continue creating art and bring unique stories to life.

Facing death is a powerful motivator to live harder. I spent the past three years fighting cancer, and I overcame it. I have confronted the challenge of fighting cancer as a young adult and came out stronger. I’ve been through five different chemo regimens, radiation to my sternum, and a stem cell transplant during this time. I’ve had three biopsies and seven surgeries around my neck and chest. I was diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkin’s lymphoma in the middle of my junior year of college. I medically withdrew from university to prioritize my rapidly declining health. After all this time, I am finally in remission and ready to finish my Virtual Technology and Design degree. It would have been so much easier to give in to the negative thoughts and feelings I had at any point in my journey, cursing the heavens and lashing out at the world. But instead, I forged ahead and took the piles of bad news I received in stride, and fought to keep positive. This journey has been a second chance for me to live.

I grew up praised as a gifted student and a talented artist. I was then told by those same adults praising me that artists make no money and that girls weren’t good at computer science. I decided to combine my passions of art, math, and my natural skills with computers into a career in animation. There might also be the bonus of showing those adults I can succeed wherever I please. I chose to major in Virtual Technology and Design with these goals in mind. I was happily moving forward with my goals when in 2019, my world shifted. I was diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkin’s lymphoma in the middle of my junior year of college. The shock of being diagnosed with cancer at the age of twenty-one was unfathomable. I medically withdrew from university to focus on my rapidly declining health. I finished six months of chemo but relapsed soon after completing radiation treatment and needed a stem cell transplant and fifteen more months of chemotherapy as an extreme effort to rid my body of the disease. While preparing for the transplant, doctors discovered that I also had Stage 1 papillary thyroid cancer. After nearly three years of fighting these diseases, I am fully in remission and ready to return to finishing my degree. During these past few years, I’ve been researching the studios that I’d like to work for and people who are currently in the industry. I’ve concluded that the promising way to achieve my dream career is to start as an entry-level artist and work my way up until I am in my dream position as Senior Creative Concept Designer in feature animation. My degree will help me reach this path as I am taught the tools and pipelines used by professional industries and offers a collaborative studio environment mirroring the professional space on a small scale. I also learn the skills necessary to adapt to the ever-changing landscape of technology. I plan to make a difference in the world with the stories I’ll bring to life. My goal may not seem lofty, but great stories are world-shifting indeed. Childhood movies sear themselves into our souls, teaching morals while entertaining us and introducing different life views to young children with no other experiences but their own. I plan to create diverse and developed characters and wonderous worlds that leave viewers wishing to see more. Someday my name will scroll through the credits of a well-loved movie that I poured my passion and talent into to create and I will have helped make a difference in the world.