The summer of 2023 felt like I had the world at my fingertips, an endless array of options for where I could apply to college and start the next part of my life. While working on my art portfolio for college applications, my mother took a picture of me painting in my room and I couldn't resist turning the photo into a watercolor piece. The painting is the first image uploaded onto this submission and is the hardest piece I have ever worked on. I spend multiple sketches and drafts getting the right colors, values, and composition. After making some paintings from the previous school year which I no longer felt proud of, creating this piece gave me confidence that I could create the type of art I wanted to if I just put in the effort, patience, and focus. This turning point cemented my love of art and desire to pursue it as a professional career. My newfound confidence also led me to apply to be a design major at the University of Southern California, which is where I will be attending this fall. My dream for the future is to look back on this piece and see imperfections because it means I will have grown so much as an artist, and hopefully have created even better pieces after enhancing my skills at the end of four years.

As my sophomore year of high school was coming to an end, I sat in the counselor's office, judging the classes I could choose from for my junior year. I'd always heard junior year was the most difficult, with students taking as many advanced classes as they could to put on their college applications. However, I was so lost and had no idea where I wanted to go or what I wanted to do. Then I saw it; AP Art. My counselor informed me that the class was typically reserved for senior students, but after the worst year of my life, I was determined to have a schedule that I could look forward to which made me excited to come to school. After submitting a portfolio, I was accepted into the class by a teacher who would change my educational journey, Mrs. Hill. Mrs. Hill's class challenged me so much as an artist and helped me build the time management skills I would need to develop a portfolio for the class. Previously only having drawn in my sketchbook, being tasked with creating 15 full illustrations was daunting. However, I learned how to thumbnail and come up with ideas to make the process a lot easier for myself. I ended up enjoying the class even more than I thought I would, so much so that I decided to take it again the following year to push myself even further. I received the top score of a 5 on both. Two years of experience creating portfolios gave me an advantage when applying to university since I wasn't so nervous about the process. Mrs. Hill always encouraged me to study art in college and connected me with resources to better my application and push my art into the world. If not for my teacher's guidance and belief in me, I wouldn't be where I am today, which is why she is my greatest influence. I will soon be an undergraduate at the University of Southern California, studying design and business. I dream of becoming a background designer for an animation studio or an advertisement designer for a big company. I often use my background and heritage as inspiration in my artwork, and coming from a smaller town, I have a unique perspective that isn't seen in Los Angeles. Everyone dreams of making their name in the city of angels, but it takes hard work and hunger to actually make it, and I am nothing short of determined. My work provides a window into my core memories of growing up in the Central Valley and being surrounded by Mexican culture. Everything I do is for my grandparents and parents who never went to college and worked so hard to give me the opportunity they missed. I have worked since I was 16 and will continue to work through college to fund my education, so scholarships deeply aid me in achieving my goal of becoming a professional artist. I hope one day to return to Merced, connect with my art teacher Mrs. Hill, and help inspire the next generation of artists.

Pursuing higher education is no easy task, especially when you feel as though you don't belong anywhere. As a child of divorced parents and someone who has struggled with their Hispanic identity since childhood, I have become very accustomed to being an outsider. All throughout preschool to sixth grade, the majority of my peers were of Mexican heritage, just like me. However, many of my classmates and friends had either immigrated to the United States or had parents who were immigrants. My parents were born in America, and my grandparents had been the ones who had made the difficult decision to leave their home country. Although the degree of difference between me and the kids my age was only that of one generation, it seemed at times that we were a whole world apart. I could never quite speak Spanish as well as they could, and I had never tried the Mexican candy that they would bring to school. Something was different about me, although my curly hair and tan complexion made me look the same. Those same features would later get me taunted when I graduated to middle school. Incredibly nervous to start my education at a new school with kids I had never met, I quickly realized that I was one of the only Hispanic students in attendance. My nose looked funny compared to everyone else, and my hair was called a "lion's mane" when I wore it naturally. I started introducing myself by pronouncing my name in English, against my parent's wishes. Still, I was laughed at when mentioning cultural dishes, threatened half-jokingly about I.C.E. being called on my family, and assigned to translate for new students when my Spanish was the worst it had ever been. Despite not being Mexican enough or American enough at the same time, my life was going to split into two in another way. My parents had constantly argued and given each other the silent treatment for periods of weeks on end, for years now. I knew it was inevitable, and one day my mother left and my brother and I helped her load her car and move into her new apartment. The same day we came back to my now father's house, the air felt sobering. Eventually, my father also moved into an apartment, and for almost three years now I have been moving from apartment to apartment twice a week. It led to the hardest mental health struggles of my life, and I still struggle with being ripped from my environment after only a few days and being set into a new one, over and over. Art has guided me through my troubles, and I plan to continue an education in Fine Arts or Illustration. I have learned that I am enough in my culture, and have adapted to life with separated parents. I will give back to my community by representation in media and art, to show kids like me that it's okay to not fit in.

I have been drawn to art since I was a child. Nobody else in my family was artistic, and I had to start the hobby on my own. Eventually, I became more serious about my interest and sought out classes at my public high school. Although deemed impractical to some, Fine Arts and Illustration is the only career path I can see myself going towards, and I have done everything possible in my ability to set myself up to have good chances when applying to schools of art and design, having only received acceptances from my applications so far. Some schools I am considering attending are SAIC, Otis, MICA, and Pratt. I challenge myself in academics and maintain a 4.0 weighted GPA through 6 dual enrollment college classes with my high school, as well as a perfect score on my AP 2-D Studio Art portfolio. I am taking my education and craft very seriously, and I have even been in local and national level competitions, taking second place in California's 13th District Congressional Art Competition. Although this passion is very important to me, I often worry about the funds and scholarships that are available to me. My family is from Mexico, and my grandparents both immigrated here when they were teenagers. My family has not had the opportunity to generate generational wealth for their children, due to limited opportunities, finances, discrimination, and language barriers. They worked in farms, canaries, and flea markets, and my grandfather still works in construction at 60 years old to ensure that his children and grandchildren can have a better life. To make their sacrifices worth it, I realize that I need to take responsibility for my future as well, and have worked 2 separate jobs at an attraction park and a retail location. I have saved all of my work money because my parents will not be able to help me with a majority of the costs of tuition, even after financial aid and merit scholarships, which will not cover the expensive cost of housing in major cities like New York or Los Angeles. Moving hours away by car or plane from my family and the only town I've ever lived in will be challenging, and money is something that I would like to not stress about. This scholarship will make it easier for me to transition to a new housing arrangement or dorm for my studies and ease my parents and my concerns over the costs of housing.

Throughout all of my lowest points, art has always been my saving grace. In my sophomore year of high school, I was the most miserable I had ever been. Coming out of quarantine and being pushed back into socializing with people who had changed so much, when I myself had changed so much, was crippling, to say the least. My anxiety and insecurity was at an all-time high and I was having trouble showing up to my classes and making it through my extracurriculars. I was outcasted in much of my classes, especially in soccer, where I was nowhere near as good of a long-distance runner as the rest of my team. Much of my underlying stress came from my home life. My parents had gotten a divorce the year before, and we had all seen it coming for years. They always fought and I was made to be in the middle of arguments, trying to diffuse situations of adults three times my age. When the separation happened, I naively thought the yelling would stop, but instead, it almost got worse. I was the messenger for my parent's insults at each other, and it drove me and my brother insane. I was getting very little sleep during school nights, waking up before sunrise to catch my bus, and not leaving school until 5:00 p.m. when my parents left work, hours after my peers left. What hurt me the most was how none of my teachers or classmates cared to reach out or help me when I was so clearly tired every day and always zoning out. What eventually pulled me out of my depression was my anticipation for my upcoming AP Art Class. I was so eager to start working on projects and full illustrations, so much so that I joined the course my junior year of high school when students generally took the class senior year. It took a minute, but I eventually became good friends with the small group of students in that class, since we all had a common interest in creating. Being a junior meant I had more freedom over my class schedule, and it lifted a huge weight on my shoulders that I was no longer required to be in a sport for my physical education credit. I spent countless hours and the majority of my weeks working on my portfolio, applying skills that I had learned over my time being isolated during my freshman and senior years. I've filled up many sketchbooks with drawings and doodles, pouring my heart onto a page when I had no other outlet. More than anything with my portfolio, I was searching for validation. I wanted to show someone, anyone, that I mattered, and that I was trying. My attempts at portraying my passion and effort through my artwork paid off, as I received a perfect score on my AP 2-D Art Portfolio, being 0.7% of students to earn all possible points. I haven't stopped though, and I'm taking AP Drawing this year as a senior, as well as building my college application for art universities. My motiviation in art has led me to be more motivated in other aspects of my life as well. In the past year, I have had 3 jobs, obtained my driver's license, and entered many art competitions. Art has fundamentally changed me as a person for the better, and I am so grateful that I can consider it as a career option, but my main struggle with attending art school is the price tag, which is where scholarships would help me tremendously.

The way I see the world is fundamentally changed by my passion for art. Everything is broken down into shapes and colors, values and compositions. I've been taking more and more inspiration from my town and creating artwork for my 2nd AP Art Portfolio as well as my College Application Portfolio that centers around places in my city of Merced California and what these places mean to me. I think this is subconsciously my way of saying goodbye and taking in the town I've lived in my whole life before I moved away to college. My inspirations are environments where I've worked (music shop downtown), where I shop and embrace my culture (la panadería), and where I get late-night food (Victoria's Drivethru). By creating artwork of my environment, I can ensure that I will never forget where I came from, no matter where in the world I choose to study art and pursue Illustration. It's a bit ironic in a way, that the elements and references of my town are the same ones that allow me to create the art that will get me to leave and hopefully be accepted into art school far away. My town inspires my ticket out, like a warm hug of remembrance before tossing me off the train into adulthood.

Pursuing higher education is no easy task, especially when you feel as though you don't belong anywhere. As a child of divorced parents and someone who has struggled with their Hispanic identity since childhood, I have become very accustomed to being an outsider. All throughout preschool to sixth grade, the majority of my peers were of Mexican heritage, just like me. However, many of my classmates and friends had either immigrated to the United States or had parents who were immigrants. My parents were born in America, and my grandparents had been the ones who had made the difficult decision to leave their home country. Although the degree of difference between me and the kids my age was only that of one generation, it seemed at times that we were a whole world apart. I could never quite speak Spanish as well as they could, and I had never tried the Mexican candy that they would bring to school. Something was different about me, although my curly hair and tan complexion made me look the same. Those same features would later get me taunted when I graduated to middle school. Incredibly nervous to start my education at a new school with kids I had never met, I quickly realized that I was one of the only Hispanic students in attendance. My nose looked funny compared to everyone else, and my hair was called a "lion's mane" when I wore it naturally. I started introducing myself by pronouncing my name in English, against my parent's wishes. Still, I was laughed at when mentioning cultural dishes, threatened half-jokingly about I.C.E. being called on my family, and assigned to translate for new students when my Spanish was the worst it had ever been. Despite not being Mexican enough or American enough at the same time, my life was going to split into two in another way. My parents had constantly argued and given each other the silent treatment for periods of weeks on end, for years now. I knew it was inevitable, and one day my mother left and my brother and I helped her load her car and move into her new apartment. The same day we came back to my now father's house, the air felt sobering. Eventually, my father also moved into an apartment, and for almost three years now I have been moving from apartment to apartment twice a week. It led to the hardest mental health struggles of my life, and I still struggle with being ripped from my environment after only a few days and being set into a new one, over and over. Art has guided me through my troubles, and I plan to continue an education in Fine Arts or Illustration. I have learned that I am enough in my culture, and have adapted to life with separated parents. I will give back to my community by representation in media and art, to show kids like me that it's okay to not fit in.

I have been drawn to art since I was a child. Nobody else in my family was artistic, and I had to start out the hobby on my own. Eventually, I become more serious about my interest and sought out classes at my public high school. Although deemed impractical to some, Fine Arts and Illustration is the only career path I can see myself going towards, and I have done everything possible in my ability to set myself up to have good chances when applying to schools of art and design. I am a good student with a 4.0 weighted GPA who has taken 4 dual enrollment college classes with my high school, as well as AP 2-D Studio Art in which I received a 5/5. I am taking my education and craft very seriously, and I have even been in local and national level competitions, taking second place in California's 13th District Congressional Art Competition. Although this passion is very important to me, I often worry significantly about the funds and scholarships that are available to me. My family is from Mexico, and my grandparents both immigrated here when they were teenagers. My family has not had the opportunity to generate generational wealth for their children, due to limited opportunities, finances, discrimination, and language barriers. They worked in farms, canaries, and flea markets, and my grandfather still works in construction at 60 years old to ensure that his children and grandchildren can make a better life. To make their sacrifices worth it, I realize that I need to take responsibility for my own future as well, and have worked 2 separate jobs at an attraction park and a retail location. I am currently in the process of being re-hired for the seasonal attraction park job, as well as another retail job during the weekdays. I have saved all of my work money because my parents will not be able to help me with a majority of the costs of tuition, even after financial aid and possible merit scholarships. I spend the majority of my nights researching portfolio requirements, tuition costs, and housing situations for many different art universities I am considering. However, I couldn't help but notice that a large number of these institutions have little to no Hispanic staff and very few Hispanic demographics among alumni. I wonder what my chances are, and if the systemic barriers really run deep enough to keep people like me away from prestigious and expensive educations. I don't know the answer, but I know that I have to try to be accepted into these schools. Since I will have to move to attend school, housing is another big expense I have to account for. This scholarship will make it infinitely easier for me to transition to a new housing arrangement or dorm for my studies and ease my concerns over the costs of housing.