February 14th 2025, was a day that changed my life forever. Not only was it Valentine’s Day, my favorite holiday, but it also marked the release of the deluxe edition of Short n' Sweet by Sabrina Carpenter. From that moment on, “Busy Woman” quickly became my most-played song on Spotify, and I was in her top 0.3% of listeners that year. That album release was the catalyst that turned me into a full-blown Sabrina Carpenter superfan. As someone who is deeply inspired by retro, feminine, and storytelling visuals, I was immediately drawn to her style and music. The way she utilizes fashion, set design, lyrics, choreography, and more to explore the complexities of love, loss, and nonsense in relationships has inspired me to embrace my own creative vision more boldly, especially in how I express myself aesthetically. Every project she takes on, from her Christmas special to her starring on the Muppet Show to her collaboration with Dunkin' Donuts, is so authentically her. She stays true to her creative vision while allowing herself to evolve, which is something I deeply admire about her. Ultimately, being a fan of Sabrina Carpenter has gone far beyond simply enjoying her music and performances. She has taught me the value of intentionality and authenticity in everything you do. As someone pursuing a future rooted in design and visual storytelling, I carry that lesson with me in everything that I create. She encourages me to embrace who I am and be completely unapologetic in my femininity, playfulness, and romanticism, one sparkly bodysuit at a time.

I didn’t care about fashion until I learned about art. It was in my third year of completing my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2018 as I was researching church facades for my next assignment that I came across couturier Guo Pei’s Fall 2018 collection. To me, that was an awakening because it was the first time I had seen such a stunning and seamless fusion of architecture and fashion. I was mesmerized by the sculptural, glittering gowns and ornate embroideries that blurred the boundary between fashion, fantasy, and architecture. It was from then on that I became obsessed with couture designs and began to view fashion not only as a function but as wearable art. After graduating in the spring of 2019 with a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from the University of Missouri- St. Louis, I decided to further my education and go back to school for fashion design. To prepare for fashion school, I whipped out my family’s old sewing machine and started modifying my own clothes. I would give new life to them by ripping apart, stitching together, cropping, and transforming them into new garments. I began volunteering at my local community sewing room, sorting fabrics and organizing display shelves all while practicing my sewing any chance I could. I also started working on theater productions with the costume crew at my local creative arts center where I assisted with costume maintenance and costume changes. I read books about fashion history and pattern making, continued upcycling my clothes, progressed to more advanced sewing projects, and researched my favorite fashion designers and studied their design processes, all while developing my ideas and aesthetic as a designer and artist. During these activities, I discovered my future life goals. I want to be a designer that challenges the constraints of reality by incorporating materials that could change shape, form, or color while being worn and combining this with my drawing and painting skills from my fine arts background. My goal is to make fashion more sustainable by experimenting with biomaterials and inventing new techniques and textiles in the design process that will minimize fabric waste and reduce the fashion industry’s harmful impact on climate change. To reach these goals I knew that I needed to study at a school that could nurture my creativity and challenge me as an artist. In September of 2022, I applied for the fashion design associate's degree program at one of the top design schools in America, Parsons School of Design, and in mid-March of this year I was accepted into the program. The money awarded from this scholarship will go towards my future education in New York at Parsons. Tuition, housing, and living expenses add up to more student debt, and winning the scholarship can relieve some of the financial pressures of higher education. In addition to this, being awarded this scholarship would be a personal achievement that could be added to my resume, reflecting my hard work and passion for achieving my career goals. Fashion has been at the forefront of my life since 2018 and has become more than just a hobby, it has become my life’s pursuit. Deciding to go back to school to pursue a degree in fashion was highly ambitious and not an easy decision, especially with already having student loans from earning my bachelor’s degree, but I know that the opportunity I have to study fashion at Parsons is a blessing I can’t let pass by. I know that with this scholarship, my dreams of succeeding at Parsons can become reality, making the experience genuinely priceless.