I have had many health complications throughout high school. I had to have kidney surgery. Prior to the surgery I was in a lot of pain and on medication. I already had a deep interest in creating art and I used art as my therapy on my hardest days, and try to focus on patterns, places, and memories. Art was something that I could do that didn’t put a strain on my body. I focused on something I could do and didn’t let what I couldn’t do, control my mind. I found joy in combining my love of art and history into one. So, with that, a lot of my artwork is inspired by my home city reflecting scenes of New Orleans, my interest in the history and beauty of my home, my family, and my mind. I release stress through my different painting themes. In the paintings and drawings of New Orleans locations I focus on the atmosphere, color, and architecture of different sights, all things I love about my city. The other is my family. I have many pieces that reflect my love of my memories and mementos like my childhood turtle plate that I enjoyed many meals on with my family. It reminds me of when I was very young and all the happy memories of so many years ago. Another is a music box that was gifted to me by my grandfather. It was a piece that he had given my grandmother when they were first married. It is very special to me and to my mother because my grandmother was killed in a car accident when my mom was only 15 years old. My mom speaks of her mother often and it saddens me that I never got to meet her. My mom said, little things I do often remind her of her mother. I was happy to join the schools bowling team and learn that my grandmother also enjoyed the sport of bowling. However, knowing my mom lost her mother at such a young age has truly made me treasure the bond my mom and I share. All in all, I hope through my pieces to clear my brain, focus on things I love, my passions, and love for my family. I have also seen doctors and my school counselor due to my mental health and we all decided that I needed an art class every semester because it was my outlet for anxiety and stress. I keep paints, brushes and a canvas with me at all times. When I feel the need I pull them out and focus on my art, my mental needs. All my teachers respect my art, and they know that I will complete all my classwork on time and sometimes I just need to escape into my own world. Without good mental health you can’t focus on academics. I have a 4.9 Gpa and I am in the running for Salutatorian. After 4 years of high school, I am now president of the National Art Honor Society. The running joke at my school is if you can’t find Charity she’s in her art room. My teachers have been amazing throughout the years. They have always encouraged me with all of my academics but been very understanding when it comes to my mental health. Whenever I had a rough day, and retreated to the art room I can always count on them for a laugh and a warm environment. I feel that through such a space I have grown not only as an artist but as a person

I have had many health complications throughout high school. I had to have kidney surgery. Prior to the surgery I was in a lot of pain and on medication. I already had a deep interest in creating art and I used art as my therapy on my hardest days, and try to focus on patterns, places, and memories. Art was something that I could do that didn’t put a strain on my body. I focused on something I could do and didn’t let what I couldn’t do, control my mind. I found joy in combining my love of art and history into one. So, with that, a lot of my artwork is inspired by my home city reflecting scenes of New Orleans, my interest in the history and beauty of my home, my family, and my mind. This stress is released through the two other types of themed art types I make. In the paintings and drawings of New Orleans locations I focus on the atmosphere, color, and architecture of different sights, all things I love about my city. The other is my family. I have many pieces that reflect my love of my memories and mementos like my childhood turtle plate that I enjoyed many meals on with my family. It reminds me of when I was very young and all the happy memories of so many years ago. Another is a music box that was gifted to me by my grandfather. It was a piece that he had given my grandmother when they were first married. It is very special to me and to my mother because my grandmother was killed in a car accident when my mom was only 15 years old. My mom speaks of her mother often and it saddens me that I never got to meet her. My mom said, little things I do often remind her of her mother. I was happy to join the schools bowling team and learn that my grandmother also enjoyed the sport of bowling. However, knowing my mom lost her mother at such a young age has truly made me treasure the bond my mom and I share. All in all, I hope through my pieces to clear my brain, focus on things I love, my passions, and love for my family. I have also seen doctors and my school counselor due to my mental health and we all decided that I needed an art class every semester because it was my outlet for anxiety and stress. I keep paints, brushes and a canvas with me at all times. When I feel the need I pull them out and focus on my art, my mental needs. All my teachers respect my art and they know that I will complete all my classwork on time and sometimes I just need to escape into my own world. Without good mental health you can’t focus on academics. I have a 4.9 Gpa and I am in the running for Salutatorian. After 4 years of high school, I am now president of the National Art Honor Society. The running joke at my school is if you can’t find Charity she’s in her art room. My teachers have been amazing throughout the years they have always encourage me and with all my academics but been very understanding. Whenever I had a rough day, and retreated to the art room I could always count on them for a laugh and a warm environment. I feel that through such a space I have grown not only as an artist but as a person.

I have had many health complications throughout high school. I had to have kidney surgery. Prior to the surgery I was in a lot of pain and on medication. I already had a deep interest in creating art and I used art as my therapy on my hardest days, and try to focus on patterns, places, and memories. Art was something that I could do that didn’t put a strain on my body. I focused on something I could do and didn’t let what I couldn’t do, control my mind. I found joy in combining my love of art and history into one. So, with that, a lot of my artwork is inspired by my home city reflecting scenes of New Orleans, my interest in the history and beauty of my home, my family, and my mind. This stress is released through the two other types of themed art types I make. In the paintings and drawings of New Orleans locations I focus on the atmosphere, color, and architecture of different sights, all things I love about my city. The other is my family. I have many pieces that reflect my love of my memories and mementos like my childhood turtle plate that I enjoyed many meals on with my family. It reminds me of when I was very young and all the happy memories of so many years ago. Another is a music box that was gifted to me by my grandfather. It was a piece that he had given my grandmother when they were first married. It is very special to me and to my mother because my grandmother was killed in a car accident when my mom was only 15 years old. My mom speaks of her mother often and it saddens me that I never got to meet her. My mom said, little things I do often remind her of her mother. I was happy to join the schools bowling team and learn that my grandmother also enjoyed the sport of bowling. However, knowing my mom lost her mother at such a young age has truly made me treasure the bond my mom and I share. All in all, I hope through my pieces to clear my brain, focus on things I love, my passions, and love for my family. I have also seen doctors and my school counselor due to my mental health and we all decided that I needed an art class every semester because it was my outlet for anxiety and stress. I keep paints, brushes and a canvas with me at all times. When I feel the need I pull them out and focus on my art, my mental needs. All my teachers respect my art and they know that I will complete all my classwork on time and sometimes I just need to escape into my own world. Without good mental health you can’t focus on academics. I have a 4.9 Gpa and I am in the running for Salutatorian. After 4 years of high school, I am now president of the National Art Honor Society. The running joke at my school is if you can’t find Charity she’s in her art room. My teachers have been amazing throughout the years they have always encourage me and with all my academics but been very understanding. Whenever I had a rough day, and retreated to the art room I could always count on them for a laugh and a warm environment. I feel that through such a space I have grown not only as an artist but as a person.

I have had many health complications throughout high school. I had to have kidney surgery. Prior to the surgery I was in a lot of pain and on medication. I already had a deep interest in creating art and I used art as my therapy on my hardest days, and try to focus on patterns, places, and memories. Art was something that I could do that didn’t put a strain on my body. I focused on something I could do and didn’t let what I couldn’t do, control my mind. I found joy in combining my love of art and history into one. So, with that, a lot of my artwork is inspired by my home city reflecting scenes of New Orleans, my interest in the history and beauty of my home, my family, and my mind. This stress is released through the two other types of themed art types I make. In the paintings and drawings of New Orleans locations I focus on the atmosphere, color, and architecture of different sights, all things I love about my city. The other is my family. I have many pieces that reflect my love of my memories and mementos like my childhood turtle plate that I enjoyed many meals on with my family. It reminds me of when I was very young and all the happy memories of so many years ago. Another is a music box that was gifted to me by my grandfather. It was a piece that he had given my grandmother when they were first married. It is very special to me and to my mother because my grandmother was killed in a car accident when my mom was only 15 years old. My mom speaks of her mother often and it saddens me that I never got to meet her. My mom said, little things I do often remind her of her mother. I was happy to join the schools bowling team and learn that my grandmother also enjoyed the sport of bowling. However, knowing my mom lost her mother at such a young age has truly made me treasure the bond my mom and I share. All in all, I hope through my pieces to clear my brain, focus on things I love, my passions, and love for my family. I have also seen doctors and my school counselor due to my mental health and we all decided that I needed an art class every semester because it was my outlet for anxiety and stress. I keep paints, brushes and a canvas with me at all times. When I feel the need I pull them out and focus on my art, my mental needs. All my teachers respect my art and they know that I will complete all my classwork on time and sometimes I just need to escape into my own world. Without good mental health you can’t focus on academics. I have a 4.9 Gpa and I am in the running for Salutatorian. After 4 years of high school, I am now president of the National Art Honor Society. The running joke at my school is if you can’t find Charity she’s in her art room. My teachers have been amazing throughout the years they have always encourage me and with all my academics but been very understanding. Whenever I had a rough day, and retreated to the art room I could always count on them for a laugh and a warm environment. I feel that through such a space I have grown not only as an artist but as a person.

I have had many health complications throughout high school. I had to have kidney surgery. Prior to the surgery I was in a lot of pain and on medication. I already had a deep interest in creating art and I used art as my therapy on my hardest days, and try to focus on patterns, places, and memories. Art was something that I could do that didn’t put a strain on my body. I focused on something I could do and didn’t let what I couldn’t do, control my mind. I found joy in combining my love of art and history into one. So, with that, a lot of my artwork is inspired by my home city reflecting scenes of New Orleans, my interest in the history and beauty of my home, my family, and my mind. This stress is released through the two other types of themed art types I make. In the paintings and drawings of New Orleans locations I focus on the atmosphere, color, and architecture of different sights, all things I love about my city. The other is my family. I have many pieces that reflect my love of my memories and mementos like my childhood turtle plate that I enjoyed many meals on with my family. It reminds me of when I was very young and all the happy memories of so many years ago. Another is a music box that was gifted to me by my grandfather. It was a piece that he had given my grandmother when they were first married. It is very special to me and to my mother because my grandmother was killed in a car accident when my mom was only 15 years old. My mom speaks of her mother often and it saddens me that I never got to meet her. My mom said, little things I do often remind her of her mother. I was happy to join the schools bowling team and learn that my grandmother also enjoyed the sport of bowling. However, knowing my mom lost her mother at such a young age has truly made me treasure the bond my mom and I share. All in all, I hope through my pieces to clear my brain, focus on things I love, my passions, and love for my family. I have also seen doctors and my school counselor due to my mental health and we all decided that I needed an art class every semester because it was my outlet for anxiety and stress. I keep paints, brushes and a canvas with me at all times. When I feel the need I pull them out and focus on my art, my mental needs. All my teachers respect my art and they know that I will complete all my classwork on time and sometimes I just need to escape into my own world. Without good mental health you can’t focus on academics. I have a 4.9 Gpa and I am in the running for Salutatorian. After 4 years of high school, I am now president of the National Art Honor Society. The running joke at my school is if you can’t find Charity she’s in her art room. My teachers have been amazing throughout the years they have always encourage me and with all my academics but been very understanding. Whenever I had a rough day, and retreated to the art room I could always count on them for a laugh and a warm environment. I feel that through such a space I have grown not only as an artist but as a person.

I have had many health complications throughout high school. I had to have kidney surgery. Prior to the surgery I was in a lot of pain and on medication. I already had a deep interest in creating art and I used art as my therapy on my hardest days, and try to focus on patterns, places, and memories. Art was something that I could do that didn’t put a strain on my body. I focused on something I could do and didn’t let what I couldn’t do, control my mind. I found joy in combining my love of art and history into one. So, with that, a lot of my artwork is inspired by my home city reflecting scenes of New Orleans, my interest in the history and beauty of my home, my family, and my mind. This stress is released through the two other types of themed art types I make. In the paintings and drawings of New Orleans locations I focus on the atmosphere, color, and architecture of different sights, all things I love about my city. The other is my family. I have many pieces that reflect my love of my memories and mementos like my childhood turtle plate that I enjoyed many meals on with my family. It reminds me of when I was very young and all the happy memories of so many years ago. Another is a music box that was gifted to me by my grandfather. It was a piece that he had given my grandmother when they were first married. It is very special to me and to my mother because my grandmother was killed in a car accident when my mom was only 15 years old. My mom speaks of her mother often and it saddens me that I never got to meet her. My mom said, little things I do often remind her of her mother. I was happy to join the schools bowling team and learn that my grandmother also enjoyed the sport of bowling. However, knowing my mom lost her mother at such a young age has truly made me treasure the bond my mom and I share. All in all, I hope through my pieces to clear my brain, focus on things I love, my passions, and love for my family. I have also seen doctors and my school counselor due to my mental health and we all decided that I needed an art class every semester because it was my outlet for anxiety and stress. I keep paints, brushes and a canvas with me at all times. When I feel the need I pull them out and focus on my art, my mental needs. All my teachers respect my art and they know that I will complete all my classwork on time and sometimes I just need to escape into my own world. Without good mental health you can’t focus on academics. I have a 4.9 Gpa and I am in the running for Salutatorian. After 4 years of high school, I am now president of the National Art Honor Society. The running joke at my school is if you can’t find Charity she’s in her art room. My teachers have been amazing throughout the years they have always encourage me and with all my academics but been very understanding. Whenever I had a rough day, and retreated to the art room I could always count on them for a laugh and a warm environment. I feel that through such a space I have grown not only as an artist but as a person.

I have had many health complications throughout my high school career. I have had hospital stays and a kidney surgery. Prior to the surgery I was in a lot of pain and on medication. I already had a deep interest in creating art and I used art as my therapy on my hardest days, and try to focus on patterns, places, and memories I admire. Art was something that I could do that didn’t put a strain on my body. I focused on something I could do and didn’t let what I couldn’t do control my mind. I felt that the best way to represented my goal as an artist was to represent my mind, my loves, and my family. The pieces that have people portrayed in them focus on the inner anxieties of the mind in a chaotic environment, tired figure takes the focus of the piece. My intention was to give the viewer a sense of the stress occurring on the figure but also a pleasing overarching environment, demonstrating that the figure may not feel okay but they will be. I found joy in combining my love of art and my love of history into one. So, with that, a lot of my artwork is inspired by my home city and reflecting scenes of New Orleans, my deep interest in the history and beauty of my home, New Orleans, my family, and my mind. This stress is released through the two other types of themed art types I make. In the paintings and drawings of New Orleans locations I focus on the atmosphere, color, and architecture of different sights, all things I love about my city. The other is my family. I have many pieces that reflect my love of my memories and mementos like my childhood turtle plate that I enjoyed many meals on with my family. It reminds me of when I was very young and all the happy memories of so many years ago. Another is a music box that was gifted to me by my grandfather. It was a piece that he had given my grandmother when they were first married. It is very special to me and to my mother because my grandmother was killed in a car accident when my mom was only 15 years old. My mom speaks of her mother often and it saddens me that I never got to meet her. My mom said, little things I do often remind her of her mother. I was happy to join the schools bowling team and learn that my grandmother also enjoyed the sport of bowling. However, knowing my mom lost her mother at such a young age has truly made me treasure the bond my mom and I share. All in all, I hope through my pieces to clear my brain, focus on things I love, my passions, and love for my family. I have also seen doctors and my school counselor due to my mental health and we all decided that I needed an art class every semester because it was my outlet for anxiety and stress. I keep paints, brushes and a canvas with me at all times. When I feel the need I pull them out and focus on my art, my mental needs. All my teachers respect my art and they know that I will complete all my classwork on time and sometimes I just need to escape into my own world. Without good mental health you can’t focus on academics. I have a 4.9 Gpa and I am in the running for Salutatorian. After 4 years of high school, I am now president of the National Art Honor Society. The running joke at my school is if you can’t find Charity she’s in her art room. My teachers have been amazing throughout the years they have always encourage me and with all my academics but been very understanding. Whenever I had a rough day, and retreated to the art room I could always count on them for a laugh and a warm environment. I feel that through such a space I have grown not only as an artist but as a person.

I have had many health complications throughout high school. I had to have kidney surgery. Prior to the surgery I was in a lot of pain and on medication. I already had a deep interest in creating art and I used art as my therapy on my hardest days, and try to focus on patterns, places, and memories. Art was something that I could do that didn’t put a strain on my body. I focused on something I could do and didn’t let what I couldn’t do, control my mind. I found joy in combining my love of art and history into one. So, with that, a lot of my artwork is inspired by my home city reflecting scenes of New Orleans, my interest in the history and beauty of my home, my family, and my mind. This stress is released through the two other types of themed art types I make. In the paintings and drawings of New Orleans locations I focus on the atmosphere, color, and architecture of different sights, all things I love about my city. The other is my family. I have many pieces that reflect my love of my memories and mementos like my childhood turtle plate that I enjoyed many meals on with my family. It reminds me of when I was very young and all the happy memories of so many years ago. Another is a music box that was gifted to me by my grandfather. It was a piece that he had given my grandmother when they were first married. It is very special to me and to my mother because my grandmother was killed in a car accident when my mom was only 15 years old. My mom speaks of her mother often and it saddens me that I never got to meet her. My mom said, little things I do often remind her of her mother. I was happy to join the schools bowling team and learn that my grandmother also enjoyed the sport of bowling. However, knowing my mom lost her mother at such a young age has truly made me treasure the bond my mom and I share. All in all, I hope through my pieces to clear my brain, focus on things I love, my passions, and love for my family. I have also seen doctors and my school counselor due to my mental health and we all decided that I needed an art class every semester because it was my outlet for anxiety and stress. I keep paints, brushes and a canvas with me at all times. When I feel the need I pull them out and focus on my art, my mental needs. All my teachers respect my art and they know that I will complete all my classwork on time and sometimes I just need to escape into my own world. Without good mental health you can’t focus on academics. I have a 4.9 Gpa and I am in the running for Salutatorian. After 4 years of high school, I am now president of the National Art Honor Society. The running joke at my school is if you can’t find Charity she’s in her art room. My teachers have been amazing throughout the years they have always encourage me and with all my academics but been very understanding. Whenever I had a rough day, and retreated to the art room I could always count on them for a laugh and a warm environment. I feel that through such a space I have grown not only as an artist but as a person.

I plan to pursue a career in History once I finish high school . I find great joy in speaking of the past's triumphs. I hope to work in museums and archeological sites. My dream job would be to become a historian or museum director for my home city, New Orleans. In the past I have found vast interest in the historical stories just a stone throws away from my house. Whether it be the decedent architecture of the St. Louis Cathedral, the large historical events that unfolded at the Cabildo, or the diverse experiences of those who've called the city home for centuries there is always more interesting things to learn. I hoped to inspire that feeling of curiosity within the viewer through a sleepy, almost macabre, atmosphere of the city. I also have a deep interest in creating art. I found joy in combining my love of art and my love of history into one. So, with that, a lot of my artwork is inspired by my home city New Orleans. My point of view as an artist is that of a person deeply interested in the history and beauty of my home, New Orleans, my family, and my mind. I have had many health complications throughout my high school career and the stress of this is reflected in some of my works where a tired figure takes the focus of the piece. I use art as a therapy in my hardest days, and try to focus on patterns, places, and memories I admire. I have many works reflecting scenes in New Orleans, focusing largely on the architecture and feeling of the city. I have had artwork displayed at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. One of my teachers made a large impact on me as a student while I was in her U.S History course. I find great joy in learning about history and she fostered that same excitement. Her passion for the material made the course have a great effect on me. I was captivated hearing events in history that I had not heard of before, and I felt inspired to find out more about the unknown. She had me compete in our district literary rally and I advanced to the State Rally for U.S History. I have also competed in the New Orleans regional Louisiana History competition in 2023 and 2024 and had my honors research project displayed in the National World War II Museum. I earned school merit-based awards having the highest-grade point average in U.S History and a dual enrollment Art History class. My love of history also goes into other things like World Geography and Civics as well. I was invited to participate in Louisiana Girls State (LAGS) which was a one-week leadership and citizenship training program where I learned about the political process and was assigned to mock cities and political parties and earned a trophy for Best Overall Campaign. It was a great leadership program that I can use while attending college because I plan to be in the honors programs and have leadership roles because one day I plan on being a director of a museum. My goal is set on working in the National World War II Museum.

My name is Charity Dicken and I am currently going into my senior year at Patrick F. Taylor Science and Technology Academy in Louisiana. I have an overall high school GPA of 4.9, all of my classes are either honors, dual enrollment or AP courses. I have been on Patrick Taylors varsity girls bowling team since it was started 4 years ago. We went from a team just starting out. A team where strikes were a very unusual sight. We shed a lot of tears, and we lost nearly every game during my freshman year. However, we all kept our heads up, we practiced, and we knew that we could only go up. The following year most of the girls on the team returned to play. We set goals and supported each other. With a lot of practice and help from our awesome coach, in just 3 years we ended up making it to the final 4 tournament in our region in Louisiana. We didn’t win, but it was amazing that we went from the bottom team in our district to one of the top teams in our state tournament. Being on the team has help me build confidence in myself and seeing my friends and family cheer on our team feels good. I am very proud of our team, and I can’t wait to see what we will do during my senior year. We are a hardworking team both inside and outside the classroom. Being involved in a team sport has given me the self-confidence to be more involved in school groups and clubs. I was nominated to serve as the President of the National Art Honor Society, and I was elected to be historian of both the National English and Science Honor Societies this coming year. I have competed in our district literary rally and advanced to the State Rally for U.S History. I have competed in the New Orleans regional Louisiana History competition twice and had my honors research project displayed in the National World War II Museum. I have also had my art work displayed at the National World War II Museum, Audubon Zoo, Ogden Museum in New Orleans and I currently have art work submitted to multiple art competitions in Louisiana including the Rau art competition and Congressional Art competition. One of my art pieces placed 1st in the MCEC – Military child art contest and 3rd in the National Museum of the Marine Corps student art competition. I also decided to challenge myself a little more this summer. So, I applied and was accepted to attend Louisiana Girls Leadership Academy. It was my first time ever being away from my family for multiple days. I was very nervous and scared, but I ended up having a fantastic time and I meet so many wonderful girls. I am so glad, that I tried out for the girls bowling team at my school. Bowling has helped break down a wall that I had built. I was always too nervous or scared to do things. Bowling opened me up to making friends and learning the value of teamwork. I have gained more self-confident. I aspire to study history in college. My future dream job would be being a historian or museum director for my home city. I found joy in combining my love of art and my love of history into one. So, with that, a lot of my artwork is inspired by New Orleans. I also want to keep up with bowling and continue playing on leagues through college and into my adult life.

I am currently a junior in high school at the number 1 public school in Louisiana. I have an overall high school GPA of 4.9. All of my classes are either honors, advanced placement or dual enrollment courses through LSU and Southeastern Louisiana University. I have been inducted into National Honor Society, National English Honor Society, National Art Honor Society and Science National Honor Society. Just this week I was appointed to the position of President of the National Art Honor Society for this coming 2024/ 2025 school year and I was also elected to hold the Historian position in the Science National Honor Society. All of these positions start next school year which would be my senior year. The career path I am interested in is both History and Art. I would say both Art and History have always been my passion. I have competed in our district literary rally and advanced to the State Rally for U.S History. I competed in many competitions that are aligned with my interested. I have competed in the New Orleans regional Louisiana History competition twice and had my honors research project displayed in the National World War II Museum. I have also had my art work displayed at the National World War II, Audubon Zoo, Ogden Museum in New Orleans and I currently have art work submitted to multiple art competitions in Louisiana including the Rau art competition and Congressional Art competition. I have been on my school’s varsity girls bowling team for 3 years and we made it to the playoffs this year. In my future I aspire to study history in college. My future dream job would be being a historian for my home city, New Orleans. I have found vast interest in the historical stories just a stone throws away from my home. I also have a deep interest in creating art. I found joy in combining my love of art and my love of history into one. So with that, a lot of my artwork is inspired by my home city New Orleans. Whether it be the decedent architecture of the St. Louis Cathedral, the large historical events that unfolded at the Cabildo, or the diverse experiences of those who've called the city home for centuries there is always more interesting things to learn and enjoy. I hoped to inspire curiosity, knowledge and share my love of my city to others.