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Audrey Hollenbaugh

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Finalist

General information

Hobbies & Interests

  • Painting and Studio Art
  • Acting And Theater
  • Singing
  • Choir
  • Drawing And Illustration
  • Gaming

Reading

  • Novels
  • Romance
  • Young Adult
  • Dystopian

I read books multiple times a month.

Bio

My goal in life is to be happy. As the saying goes, if you find a job you love, you'll never work a day in your life. I've discovered my love and talent for acting in my high school's drama program, and I can't imagine doing anything else for the rest of my life. After studying acting, music, and dance at the University of Michigan, I hope to become a professional actress. I'm working at this by studying hard and practicing my acting and singing as much as possible. I just graduated as salutatorian with a 1520 SAT score, on top of receiving many lead roles and awards for my acting abilities. In my free time, I enjoy painting, working with mainly acrylic paint. I have submitted many pieces for competition, receiving several winning positions and honorable mentions. Coming from a low-income family with no college savings means that I have to win scholarships if I want to attend college. I know how important this is, and it's part of the reason why I focus so much on my grades. I have applied to over a hundred scholarships and so far have covered nearly all of my costs for my freshman year, but I am still working towards my full-ride. I'm a dedicated student, which shows in my grades and test scores. I'm a passionate actress, which shows in my roles and awards. I'm a talented artist, which shows in my competition victories. I'm planning on building myself a very big future.

Education

University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

Bachelor's degree program

2023 – 2027

Majors:
  • Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft

Marine City High School

High School

2019 – 2023

Miscellaneous

Desired degree level:
Bachelor's degree program
Majors of interest:
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft, Visual and Performing Arts, General, Fine and Studio Arts, Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods
Medical school interest:
No

Career

  • Theater Camp Assistant Director

    Performing Arts · St. Clair County Community College

    Jan 2023 – Jan 2023

Miscellaneous

Dream career field:
Theatre & Drama
Dream career goals:
Full-Time Professional Actress
Has nursing license:
No
Bold Art Scholarship
The art piece I've chosen to write about inspires me in a peculiar way. I care little for the actual composition of the piece, although it is beautiful, for it isn't my style. What inspires me about this piece, Irises by Vincent Van Gogh, is the story behind it. Many know of Van Gogh's famous works, and some even of his stay at an asylum. But not as many know his full story. His life was sad, without any kind of happy ending. His mother threw out his art, he never found love, and he suffered from physical and mental illness. Van Gogh didn't become famous until after he had died, from suicide nonetheless. This piece in particular, one of his most famous, was seen by Van Gogh as a simple study, not even worth attempting to sell. It was one of the paintings he made in the asylum, hoping to keep himself from succumbing to insanity through his art. Despite the melancholy tone of Van Gogh's life, it gives me hope. Hope that even after a lifetime of failure, my legacy can prevail, my work can live on and inspire those who come decades after me. It inspires me to keep painting, even if I can't seem to sell a single piece. Looking at Irises, remembering what came before and after it, inspires me to continue trying, even when I can't see tangible success.
Bold Books Scholarship
I'm sure most people's books they'd designate as the most inspiring ones they've read have much deeper, more exciting, more dramatic contents than Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins. Nonetheless, this book is my favorite. I reread it frequently, and am left with an indescribable feeling every time I finish it. The plot of the book can barely even be called a plot. There isn't really a rising action, a climax, or any of the expected elements of a story. Just statements of facts, an account of a realistic time in a few teenagers' lives. In this way, Lynne Rae Perkins' story is unique. This uniqueness, this deceptive simplicity, gives the book the power to make you reflect. The focus on little pleasures of a normal, even boring experience repaints your entire perspective. Fresh bread from a bakery, reading in the summer air of your backyard, looking at the school yearbook with your best friend. Normal things that we take for granted, yet this book cherishes. That is what shifts your worldview, more than any big tragedy or heroic tale could ever. Despite its plain subject matter, I am left with an indescribable feeling every time I finish Criss Cross; a contemplative feeling, a feeling that inspires me to live more deeply, to take in every little piece of my life, to appreciate every crumb of good I get. Criss Cross inspires me to love not just the thrills in my life, but the breathing, the walking, the smell of my perfume, the wood floors beneath my feet, the spring feeling you only get in March each year, the laughter and talking and tears. It inspires me to live, to completely, fully live every single second.
Bold Best Skills Scholarship
At my first audition for a school play, I sucked. Looking back, I interpreted the character completely wrong, and did a horrible job acting it out. I received a (rightfully chosen) spot in the ensemble. That was almost three years ago. Now, I'm the Creative Arts Director of my school's drama club, a Student Director, and have played large roles such as Ebenezer Scrooge in Patrick Barlow's "A Christmas Carol", Yetta in Matt Thompson's "The 146 Point Flame", and Una in Laura Lundgren Smith's "We Are The Sea", receiving excellence in acting awards as Yetta and superiority in acting awards as Una from the MIFA at State and Regional competitions. This seems to be a particularly large jump, but it wasn't all at once, and it wasn't easy. As I said, I did not start out as a very impressive actress. I was, however, a determined one. After receiving nothing past ensemble positions during my first year of high school, I spent the entire summer practicing my acting. I played musical theatre nonstop, lip-syncing and practicing my facial expressions in the mirror, pacing my room delivering made-up monologues for hours on end. And it paid off. I started receiving only lead and lead-supporting roles from my sophomore year onwards. But I didn't stop striving for better. Still, I listen to that music, analyze my facial expressions, pace in my room. The only difference is that now the monologues aren't made up, they're ones I've earned. The facial expressions aren't in the mirror, they're in videos of me pouring my heart out on the stage. All that is to say that one of my best skills is my acting, second only to my dedication to it. My passion is what drives me to be better, to reach, indefinitely, for perfection.
Audrey Hollenbaugh Student Profile | Bold.org