From a young age, my parents enrolled me in art classes which helped. I liked art class in school, and then I had the opportunity to do it out of school. The first art class I took was at Camden County College. They introduced me to different mediums which is very helpful for me today. I also learned different techniques with charcoal, pastels, and how to blend colors. The second art class I remember was at Moore College of Art in Philadelphia. They showed me how diverse art is. There I took a fashion/art class where you get to design clothes and sketch out what you want them to look like. That helped me practice drawing people and positions. My most recent art class was at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. There they taught me character design and more mediums. Character design helped me draw more animated cartoons. I’m in the process of creating a background story for my character. In the future, I hope to turn this into a full comic on an app called Webtoon. I’m slowly using these different methods in my art. Two years ago I joined an organization called ACT-SO, which is a subgroup of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, that allows kids the opportunity to possibly get money for scholarships or create businesses. The students who participate in ACT-SO can experiment with different categories they can compete in. Dance, art, music, science, and business. Two years ago I competed in just the Art category. I received a bronze medal in the state competition on a piece entitled Entertainment. Last year I competed in both photography and art. I received bronze again in the drawing category but this time I received gold in the state category for photography. I went onto the national competition and placed silver winning a $1500 scholarship, an iPad Air pro, and a pen. I enjoy doing these competitions because I get constructive criticism that can help me improve my art. I do plan on finding other art competitions to compete in so I can get multiple perspectives on what I need to improve. I feel like I’ve improved a lot compared to my work last year. My interest in art can be attributed to my dad. My dad exposed me to 80’s movies and comic books. From this exposure, my love for all things art emerged. My view on “traditional art” has also expanded. My dad is the reason why I want to get better at art so I can someday get as good as he was. Looking at his old projects inspire me to get to his level and then surpass him. In my sophomore year in high school, I took an engineering class to help me in the future working with coding. Now as a senior, I am currently a member of the National Honors Art Society and club at my school. In the future, I look forward to continuing to have my art skills both inside and outside school. I intend to apply for an internship at Pixar, I have a passion for animation and wanted to learn from the best. My dream job is to work for Pixar and work on animated movies. Then possibly afterward I’d like to work on movies and sketching for set design. Overall I plan to continue learning about animation even after college to pursue my dream career. I feel with the hard work I’ve been putting in I can achieve this dream sooner than later.

I was the odd kid, instead of paying attention I was always scribbling or doodling no matter where I was. As I got older being described as odd turned into being described as artistic. When my parents realized I was more right brained they took advantage of it. They threw me into many different things hoping I would have a talent in something, luckily for them I did. I've played the piano since the 2nd grade but I stopped taking lessons in the summer of 9th grade. When I’m not sketching or working on a project I teach myself songs on the piano for fun. As I got older I started to realize I didn’t have an interest in sports or theatrical arts. I didn’t feel prepared or ready for life yet, and I felt this way for a while. In the end, I knew that whatever I wanted to do when I grew up I did not want to be miserable. From a young age, my parents enrolled me in art classes which helped. I liked art class in school, and then I had the opportunity to do it out of school. I learned many skills like but character design caught my interest the most. Excitedly I created my first character, and I’m in the process of creating a background story for my character. In the future, I hope to turn this into a full comic on an app called Webtoon. When looking for ways to get people to see my art I joined an organization called ACT-SO, a subgroup of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. It allows kids the opportunity to possibly get money for scholarships or create businesses. In my second year, 2020, I competed in both photography and art. I received bronze again in the drawing category but this time I won gold for state and silver for nationals in photography. I was so excited for people to see my work, and winning a $1500 scholarship, an iPad Air pro and pen were really helpful with progressing my art. I enjoy doing these competitions because I get constructive criticism that can help me improve my art. In the future, I look forward to continuing studying art both inside and outside school. I have now been accepted to some of my dream schools like Pratt, Ringling, and SCAD. As happy and excited as I am tuition is going to be really hard and defiantly an obstacle that will take a long time to overcome. With the information and guidance I can learn from them, I can bring more representation of not only people of color but who are a part of the LGBT community as well to the world. My dream job is to work for Pixar and work on animated movies that represent our everyday lives. The most recent inspiration that pushes me to be my best is the movie Soul. To be able to see all the diversity of not only people but the landscape as well made me feel included. I would like to be able to do the same by being able to bring my characters and stories to life. Then afterward I’d like to work on movies and sketching for set design. I plan to continue learning about animation even after college to pursue my dream career. I feel with the hard work I’ve been putting in and the hard work I will be putting in I can achieve this dream sooner than later.

As a child was routinely described as an artistic child. When I was younger drawing was something to pass the time, but as I got older it became an interest I wanted to progress in. From a young age, my parents enrolled me in art classes which helped. I liked art class in school, and then I had the opportunity to do it out of school. The first art class I took introduced me to different mediums which is very helpful for me today. I also learned different techniques with charcoal, pastels, and how to blend colors. The second art class showed me how diverse art truly is. My most recent art class taught me character design and more mediums. Character design helped me find my love for animation and drawing animated cartoons. I’m now in the process of creating a background story for my character. In the future, I hope to turn this into a full comic on an app called Webtoon. Two years ago I joined an organization called ACT-SO, which is a subgroup of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, that allows kids the opportunity to possibly get money for scholarships or create businesses. In my first competition, I competed in just the Art category. I received a bronze medal in the state competition on a piece entitled Entertainment. Last year I competed in both photography and art. I received bronze again in the drawing category but this time I received gold in the state category for photography. I went onto the national competition and placed silver winning a $1,500 scholarship, an iPad Air pro, and a pen. I enjoy doing these competitions because I get constructive criticism that can help me improve my art. I feel I’ve improved compared to my work last year. In the future, I look forward to continuing to have my art skills both inside and outside school. I intend to apply for an internship at Pixar, I have a passion for animation and wanted to learn from the best. My dream job is to work for Pixar and work on animated movies. I alternatively like to work for Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, or Toho and Bones which is an anime studio in Japan. Overall I plan to continue learning about animation even after college to pursue my dream career. I feel with the hard work I’ve been putting in I can achieve this dream sooner than later.

As a child was routinely described as an artistic child. I've played the piano since the 2nd grade but I stopped taking lessons in the summer of 9th grade. I still teach myself songs on the piano to practice. When I was younger it was just something to pass the time, but as I got older it became an interest I wanted to progress in. As I got older I started to realize I didn’t have an interest in sports or theatrical arts. This scared me, curating my interest and considering what I wanted to do when I grow up. I didn’t feel prepared or ready for life yet, and I felt this way for a while. I felt confused because I didn’t know what I wanted to do. In the end, I knew that whatever I wanted to do when I grew up I did not want to be miserable. One thing I could do forever and would never feel like a job. From a young age, my parents enrolled me in art classes which helped. I liked art class in school, and then I had the opportunity to do it out of school. The first art class I took was at Camden County College. They introduced me to different mediums which is very helpful for me today. I also learned different techniques with charcoal, pastels, and how to blend colors. The second art class I remember was at Moore College of Art in Philadelphia. They showed me how diverse art is. There I took a fashion/art class where you get to design clothes and sketch out what you want them to look like. That helped me practice drawing people and positions. My most recent art class was at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. There they taught me character design and more mediums. Character design helped me draw more animated cartoons. I’m in the process of creating a background story for my character. In the future, I hope to turn this into a full comic on an app called Webtoon. I’m slowly using these different methods in my art. Two years ago I joined an organization called ACT-SO, which is a subgroup of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, that allows kids the opportunity to possibly get money for scholarships or create businesses. The students who participate in ACT-SO can experiment with different categories they can compete in. Dance, art, music, science, and business. Two years ago I competed in just the Art category. I received a bronze medal in the state competition on a piece entitled Entertainment. Last year I competed in both photography and art. I received bronze again in the drawing category but this time I received gold in the state category for photography. I went onto the national competition and placed silver winning a $1500 scholarship, an iPad Air pro, and a pen. I enjoy doing these competitions because I get constructive criticism that can help me improve my art. I do plan on finding other art competitions to compete in so I can get multiple perspectives on what I need to improve. I feel like I’ve improved a lot compared to my work last year. The first piece I submitted was called “Entertainment” which represents how African Americans weren’t getting good roles or parts in tv shows and movies in today’s media. Through the piece, I was able to show my creative style that I’ve been working on, and lately, I’ve been designing my characters like that so they feel more personal. My interest in art can be attributed to my dad. My dad exposed me to 80’s movies and comic books. From this exposure, my love for all things art emerged. My view on “traditional art” has also expanded. My dad is the reason why I want to get better at art so I can someday get as good as he was. He used to do commercial art and mechanical drafting. Looking at his old projects inspire me to get to his level and then surpass him. In my sophomore year in high school, I took an engineering class to help me in the future working with coding. Ironically, I didn’t enroll in art classes at school during my sophomore and junior year. Now as a senior, I am currently a member of the National Honors Art Society and club at my school. In the future, I look forward to continuing to have my art skills both inside and outside school. I intend to apply for an internship at Pixar, I have a passion for animation and wanted to learn from the best. My dream job is to work for Pixar and work on animated movies. I alternatively like to work for Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, or Toho and Bones which is an anime studio in Japan. Then possibly afterward I’d like to work on movies and sketching for set design. Overall I plan to continue learning about animation even after college to pursue my dream career. I feel with the hard work I’ve been putting in I can achieve this dream sooner than later.

As a child was routinely described as an artistic child. When I was younger drawing was something to pass the time, but as I got older it became an interest I wanted to progress in. From a young age, my parents enrolled me in art classes which helped. I liked art class in school, and then I had the opportunity to do it out of school. They introduced me to different mediums which is very helpful for me today. I also learned different techniques with charcoal, pastels, and how to blend colors. I never really knew how diverse art is. My interest in art can be attributed to my dad. He exposed me to 80’s movies and comic books. From this exposure, my love for all things art emerged. My dad is the reason why I want to get better at art so I can someday get as good as he was. Looking at his old projects inspire me to get to his level and then surpass him. In my sophomore year in high school, I took an engineering class to help me in the future working with coding. Now as a senior, I am currently a member of the National Honors Art Society and club at my school. I believe the scholarship will help me pay for school so I can look forward to continuing studying art both inside and outside school. I hope to gain knowledge of how to make smoother animations. I would also like to gain more skills in drawing characters, backgrounds, and communication skills. With the information and guidance I can learn from college I can bring more representation of not only people of color but who are a part of the LGBT community as well to the world. My dream job is to work for Pixar and work on animated movies that represent our everyday lives. The most recent inspiration that pushes me to be my best is the movie Soul. To be able to see all the diversity of not only people but the landscape as well made me feel included. I would like to be able to do the same by being able to bring my characters and stories to life. I plan to continue learning about animation even after college to pursue my dream career. I feel with the hard work I’ve been putting in and the hard work I will be putting in I can achieve this dream sooner than later.

When I was younger I was routinely described as an artistic child. I've played the piano since the 2nd grade but I stopped taking lessons in the summer of 9th grade. When I’m not sketching or working on a project I teach myself songs on the piano for fun. As I got older I started to realize I didn’t have an interest in sports or theatrical arts. Around the same time, I started questioning my sexuality, and all the confusion and stress started to get to my head. I didn’t feel prepared or ready for life yet, and I felt this way for a while. In the end, I knew that whatever I wanted to do when I grew up I did not want to be miserable and I wanted to feel accepted. From a young age, my parents enrolled me in art classes which helped. I liked art class in school, and then I had the opportunity to do it out of school. I learned many skills like but character design caught my interest the most. Excitedly I created my first character, and I’m in the process of creating a background story for my character. In the future, I hope to turn this into a full comic on an app called Webtoon. When looking for ways to get people to see my art I joined an organization called ACT-SO, a subgroup of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. It allows kids the opportunity to possibly get money for scholarships or create businesses. In my second year, 2020, I competed in both photography and art. I received bronze again in the drawing category but this time I won gold for state and silver for nationals in photography. I was so excited for people to see my work, and winning a $1500 scholarship, an iPad Air pro and pen were helpful with progressing my art. I enjoy doing these competitions because I get constructive criticism that can help me improve my art. In the future, I look forward to continuing studying art both inside and outside school. I hope to gain knowledge of how to make smoother animations. I would also like to gain more skills in drawing characters, backgrounds, and communication skills. I can hold my own when it comes to explaining and talking about my work, but getting some advice from professionals is always helpful and needed. With the information and guidance I can learn from you I can bring more representation of not only people of color but who are a part of the LGBT community as well to the world. When strangers see me they see my skin color, just an African American woman. To close friends I am seen as the outgoing pansexual African American woman, but I am more than that. I have a passion for animation and I want to learn from the best. My dream job is to work for Pixar and work on animated movies that represent our everyday lives. The most recent inspiration that pushes me to be my best is the movie Soul. To be able to see all the diversity of not only people but the landscape as well made me feel included. I would like to be able to do the same by being able to bring my characters and stories to life. I alternatively like to work for Warner Bros. Animation studio, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, or Toho and Bones, which is an anime studio in Japan. Then possibly afterward I’d like to work on movies and sketching for set design. I plan to continue learning about animation even after college to pursue my dream career. I believe this scholarship would help me achieve with the hard work I’ve been putting in and the hard work I will be putting in I can achieve this dream sooner than later.

As a child was routinely described as an artistic child. I've played the piano since the 2nd grade but I stopped taking lessons in the summer of 9th grade. I still teach myself songs on the piano to practice. When I was younger it was just something to pass the time, but as I got older it became an interest I wanted to progress in. As I got older I started to realize I didn’t have an interest in sports or theatrical arts. This scared me, curating my interest and considering what I wanted to do when I grow up. I didn’t feel prepared or ready for life yet, and I felt this way for a while. I felt confused because I didn’t know what I wanted to do. In the end, I knew that whatever I wanted to do when I grew up I did not want to be miserable. One thing I could do forever and would never feel like a job. From a young age, my parents enrolled me in art classes which helped. I liked art class in school, and then I had the opportunity to do it out of school. The first art class I took was at Camden County College. They introduced me to different mediums which is very helpful for me today. I also learned different techniques with charcoal, pastels, and how to blend colors. The second art class I remember was at Moore College of Art in Philadelphia. They showed me how diverse art is. There I took a fashion/art class where you get to design clothes and sketch out what you want them to look like. That helped me practice drawing people and positions. My most recent art class was at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. There they taught me character design and more mediums. Character design helped me draw more animated cartoons. Excitedly I created my first character, he is a fruit elf with bright green hair and dark green eyes. I’m in the process of creating a background story for my character. In the future, I hope to turn this into a full comic on an app called Webtoon. I’m slowly using these different methods in my art. Two years ago I joined an organization called ACT-SO, which is a subgroup of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, that allows kids the opportunity to possibly get money for scholarships or create businesses. The students who participate in ACT-SO can experiment with different categories they can compete in. Dance, art, music, science, and business. Two years ago I competed in just the Art category. I received a bronze medal in the state competition on a piece entitled Entertainment. Last year I competed in both photography and art. I received bronze again in the drawing category but this time I received gold in the state category for photography. I went onto the national competition and placed silver winning a $1500 scholarship, an iPad Air pro, and a pen. I enjoy doing these competitions because I get constructive criticism that can help me improve my art. I do plan on finding other art competitions to compete in so I can get multiple perspectives on what I need to improve. I feel like I’ve improved a lot compared to my work last year. The first piece I submitted was called “Entertainment” which represents how African Americans weren’t getting good roles or parts in tv shows and movies in today’s media. Through the piece, I was able to show my creative style that I’ve been working on, and lately, I’ve been designing my characters like that so they feel more personal. My interest in art can be attributed to my dad. My dad exposed me to 80’s movies and comic books. From this exposure, my love for all things art emerged. My view on “traditional art” has also expanded. My dad is the reason why I want to get better at art so I can someday get as good as he was. He used to do commercial art and mechanical drafting. Looking at his old projects inspire me to get to his level and then surpass him. In my sophomore year in high school, I took an engineering class to help me in the future working with coding. Ironically, I didn’t enroll in art classes at school during my sophomore and junior year. Now as a senior, I am currently a member of the National Honors Art Society and club at my school. In the future, I look forward to continuing to have my art skills both inside and outside school. With the information and guidance I can learn from you I can bring more representation of not only people of color but who are a part of other minorities as well to the world. I have a passion for animation and wanted to learn from the best. My dream job is to work for Pixar and work on animated movies that represent our everyday lives. The most recent inspiration that pushes me to be my best is the movie Soul. To be able to see all the diversity of not only people but the landscape as well made me feel included. I would like to be able to do the same by being able to bring my characters and stories to life. I intend to apply for an internship at Pixar and Warner Bros. Animation studio. I alternatively like to work for Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, or Toho and Bones which is an anime studio in Japan. Overall I plan to continue learning about animation even after college to pursue my dream career. I feel with the hard work I’ve been putting in I can achieve this dream sooner than later.