Part of being young is figuring out who we are. That means trying new things. Sometimes that can also mean learning to navigate the anxiety of trying to force ourselves to fit into environments that don't align with who we truly are. Although it's not easy it's a necessary step in finding what will give us fulfillment in life. I began to learn that lesson in my junior year of high school when I was offered a seat at The Chesapeake Bay Governor's School for Marine and Environmental Science, my zoned magnet school. The routine at my high school was for the academically excelling students to break off from the rest of the student body and go to the governor's school. Even though my interests were more in art and literature, I felt that by getting into the Governor’s School I was proving to people I was as smart as they were. After being accepted and starting classes, I quickly realized that there were very few other students who looked like me. Both my classmates and instructors made me feel that I didn't deserve to be there. As if the only reason I was there was to meet diversity quotas. This made me feel isolated. Feelings of isolation, heavy course load, and having to work part-time to help my mom became too much to balance. I withdrew from the program. I had a lot of shame because I felt I had let myself down and showed others that I was incapable. It made me feel weak. After the shame passed I learned to be more self-validating of my own strengths regardless of how others value them. Being in an environment where I felt unwelcomed taught me that while I'm working towards great things, it is just as important to work with people who appreciate you as an individual. After withdrawing from the program I also realized how S.T.E.M driven curriculum in public schools often underserves the liberal arts departments like English, History, and Art. This means that students who are more interested in those subjects have fewer opportunities for enrichment. I set my intention to nurture my passion for art more. I also set out to create more opportunities for other students who had a passion for art. I developed a program called Paradigm Shift and I worked with the superintendent to present it to the school board. The program consisted of a series of field trips and workshops with fine art institutions to expose students to art and culture. I was able to see what my ideas could do for others. Now, as I begin my freshman year at the Maryland Institute College for the Arts (MICA), I know that part of my practice will always be to help make art accessible to underserved communities, especially black communities. I also want to create opportunities for other young black artists to learn and grow by giving them a platform. I have grand visions of what is possible through art. I look forward to working with passionate people to make those visions a reality. My education is the first step. Unfortunately, my financial situation is sensitive which means I am working very hard just to afford to stay at school. I appreciate any investment in me via this scholarship and will not let it go to waste.

Everyone is called to stand up and lead in different ways, some big and some small. To me standing up has meant using my voice to advocate. My passion for community has also led me to stand up by pioneering in the types of opportunities I strive to create for others. As I go into my freshman year at the Maryland Institute College for the Arts (MICA), I know that this stage of my life is for building and learning. I want to continue exploring the ways I can utilize my passion for advocacy and community building as an artist to affect people on a large scale. There have been moments, especially in high school, where I wish I could have been more nonchalant. My tendency to speak up and ask questions made me feel pretentious or “too much”. I've grown to understand that it's not only okay but also a gift. As I've leaned into my authentic self I've grown as a leader and as someone who's able to make spaces where people feel they can be themselves. My freshman year of high school was the year I realized I wanted to pursue my passion for film and photography. that same year I started and directed the film club which was a space where my peers and I could watch, talk about, and try to make films. I used my voice to get us $1,200 from the administration to buy film equipment. The club was a success and provided proof of interest for a new elective course. Film club was an important time for me. It showed me the types of things I could do with my voice as well as began my understanding of community. Since then I have continued to advocate and build community, especially in the Arts. There's a long legacy of artists that understood the necessity of building self-sustaining, self-validating communities. These communities are where the most daring work gets made. Where there's community, there’s collaboration, support, and inspiration. When I'm not creating work of my own, I want to organize programs that support and connect artists in innovative ways. As an artist, I feel I can support other artists with a heightened sensitivity to their needs. Part of the programs will also be efforts to make the Arts more accessible to communities that lack exposure. I have grand visions of what is possible through art. I look forward to working with passionate people to make those visions a reality. My education is the first step. Unfortunately, my financial situation is sensitive which means I am working very hard just to afford to stay at school. I appreciate any investment in me via this scholarship and will not let it go to waste.

In music, the artist that has had the most influence on me is Tyler, the Creator. His willingness to be himself has been freeing to a generation of black kids that have felt misunderstood. Since nineteen, Tyler has stood by his work through varying degrees of success. Bearing witness to the way that he believes in his ideas helps me to know that the most valuable opinion is my own. His artistry doesn’t stop with music. There's a comprehensive nature to his work that includes his music videos, the clothes from his brand, and even the set designs for his album tours. From a young age, Tyler loved music. He took that love paired with creativity and relentless work ethic to make groundbreaking art. I want to do the same with my work in film and photography. Film as a medium is unique because it combines the narrative and the visual to create an experience with a depth that absorbs the viewer. A film's ability to evoke empathy regardless of how much the characters resemble the audience means that film can be used to create new questions and understandings about ourselves and others. I'm interested in drama as a genre because it deals with the human experience. I want to innovate with the types of stories I tell and the styles in which I tell them. With my characters, I want to explore the nuanced experiences of people of color. I also want to experiment with different forms, structures, and styles of making films. As a director I want my artistic voice to be strong in my films. When I look back I want to know I've left my mark so much so that future generations study my work. My practice also consists of photography. Pictures are an integral part of the way we see and appreciate the world. We process visual information at remarkable speeds with 90% of the information transmitted to the brain being visual. Our brains can contextualize what we're seeing with previous knowledge and then make abstract connections, all in a matter of seconds. What our brains do with visual information makes photography a particularly interesting medium. I want to use photography to highlight the beauty around me and explore ideas about who I am, where I come from, and where I'm going in life. I also consider my community building a part of my art. Since my freshman year of high school, I've worked to create environments that expose people to and support the making of art. There's a long legacy of artists that understood the necessity of building self-sustaining, self-validating communities. These communities are where the most daring work gets made. Where there's community, there’s collaboration, support, and inspiration. When I'm not creating work of my own, I want to organize programs that support and connect artists in innovative ways. As an artist, I feel I can support other artists with a heightened sensitivity to their needs. Part of the programs will also be efforts to make the Arts more accessible to communities that lack exposure. I have grand visions of what is possible through art. I look forward to working with passionate people to make those visions a reality. My education is the first step. Unfortunately, my financial situation is sensitive which means I am working very hard just to afford to stay at school. I appreciate any investment in me via this scholarship and will not let it go to waste.

One of the greatest powers of art is its ability to tap into the human capacity for empathy especially when put into the form of a story. Film is uniquely powerful as a medium because it combines the visual and the narrative in a way that allows the filmmaker to build a world with characters that the viewer can feel deeply for, even if the viewer’s experience doesn’t resemble the character’s. Knowing this, I want to use film to bridge gaps in understanding as well as spark new conversations around the way people think about themselves or each other. As for my photography practice, I want to work towards more project-based series that explore ideas in order to create new conversations. I also consider my community building an extension of my artistic practice. When I am not making films and taking photos I want to create opportunities for artists in my field to connect and support each other so that they can express themselves at the highest level. I will do this by organizing events like film festivals and exhibitions.

Art affects change one interaction at a time. It may be with an exhibition in a museum, a movie in a theater, or even a novel from your local library. As we engage with art it acts as a window into other experiences, as well as a mirror telling us things about ourselves and the world we live in. Art is a means of hope. It allows me to find beauty everywhere I am, no matter the circumstance. It makes me daring and inspires me to reach beyond what I know to bigger things that I could not have conceived before. I am blessed to have found something I can give my all to. My way of paying that forward is to always strive to build community by providing the framework to inspire, enable, and connect the thinkers and makers that will ultimately push our societies forward. Like most kids, my career goals have changed a lot as I've gotten older. Now, as a young adult, the decision to go into the arts comes with a lot of clarity. That clarity didn't come easy. Like many in the liberal arts, I've had and still have fears about being able to build a stable career. When I need something to anchor myself on I think back on the way I've grown up. My mom raising a family of four by herself with no degree often meant we went without certain things. Despite the lack, we always managed to find joy. Our struggle as a family taught me that happiness comes from things more than money. This helps me now to not make decisions out of the fear of poverty because I faced it. At the same time, I also watched my mother sacrifice her time, energy, and health to unfilling jobs just so that we could barely get by. Having seen what that can do to someone's spirit makes me determined to strive towards a life where I love what I do, the way I do it, and the people I do it with. I want to go to work every day with people that believe in the power of their ideas and are ready to put in the work to make them a reality. I know I’ll find that in the Arts. As I begin my freshman year at the Maryland Institute College for the Arts I am excited about the opportunities this time holds for me to grow in my craft and foster community with other artists. Unfortunately, my financial situation is sensitive. This scholarship would not only be an investment in me but also in all of the people that I want to lift up as I continue to go to the next level.