![user profile avatar](https://static.bold.org/profilePictures/10000010664eaf04980543423fb3fb458a15a2f118.webp)
Hobbies and interests
3D Modeling
Painting and Studio Art
Sculpture
Writing
Reading
Education
Community Service And Volunteering
Psychology
Reading
Psychology
Leadership
Design
Art
Contemporary
Adult Fiction
Science Fiction
Thriller
I read books daily
Dominique Laster
3,000
Bold Points1x
Finalist![user profile avatar](https://static.bold.org/profilePictures/10000010664eaf04980543423fb3fb458a15a2f118.webp)
Dominique Laster
3,000
Bold Points1x
FinalistBio
Finding your calling is powerful and rewarding, no matter when it happens. After years of working in cloud computing and video editing, it was the time I spent volunteering with developmentally challenged children that fulfilled me most. Teaching people to express themselves visually is my passion. In the fall, I will study studio art at the Fashion Institute of Technology with a minor in psychology. I intend to pursue a Master's Degree in Art Therapy, which is required to practice in the United States. Any scholarships I receive will support not only my education but also the many patients I hope to someday help. Whether you are here out of curiosity or to offer a potential scholarship, thank you for your time and generosity. The world needs it.
Education
Fashion Institute of Technology
Bachelor's degree programMajors:
- Fine and Studio Arts
University of Advancing Technology
Bachelor's degree programMajors:
- Film/Video and Photographic Arts
Miscellaneous
Desired degree level:
Master's degree program
Graduate schools of interest:
Transfer schools of interest:
Majors of interest:
- Fine and Studio Arts
- Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology
- Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations
Career
Dream career field:
Arts
Dream career goals:
Art Therapist
Grant Writing Intern
Jazz Crawl Productions2024 – Present8 monthsVisual Effects Compositor
Ouroboros2015 – 2015Visual Effects
Boot2015 – 2015Director
Cards Brah2019 – 2019NOC Technician 1
Synchronoss Technologies2019 – 20245 years
Sports
Dancing
Club2009 – 20134 years
Arts
Gilded Soul
Jewelrybracelets, necklaces2024 – PresentCommissions and Hobby
Visual Artsportraits2015 – PresentGulfport Little Theater
ActingMulan Jr., Les Miserables, Heaven Help the Po'Taters, Lysistrata, Faustus, A Street Car Named Desire, You Can't Take it With You2008 – 2011
Public services
Advocacy
Jazz Crawl Productions — Grant Writing Intern - I apply to grants to fund arts initiatives in the New Orleans area.2024 – PresentVolunteering
Cottage Grove Retirement Community — Jewelry Making Instructor - Provided supplies and assistance for seniors to design their own bracelets. Which I then strung for them.2024 – PresentVolunteering
Phoenix Fan Fusion — Makeup artist - provided makeup for charity “zombie run”2015 – 2015Volunteering
University Of Advancing Technology — Provided hands-on art education to students with mental impairments2013 – 2015Volunteering
Arizona Avengers — photographer2014 – 2016
Future Interests
Advocacy
Volunteering
Philanthropy
Entrepreneurship
Once Upon a #BookTok Scholarship
Are you ready for drama? #BookTok is filled with readers who are die hard lovers or haters of particular books. You'll find no limit to the ire people harbour for anything written by Colleen Hoover. Whether out of morbid curiosity or a genuine interest in borderline abusive romance novels, It Ends With Us has to be on the shelf of any #BookTok lover. Another #BookTok must read, is the entire ACOTAR (A Court of Thorns and Roses) series. A seemingly endless reverie of attractive men are vying for the affection of our main character. A must read for steamy fantasy lovers.
#BookTok isn't all romance though. There is a healthy dose of self-help, horror, and arguably educational books sprinkled throughout.
The Artist's Way helps readers regain their creative juices. As we grow older, it can be hard to make time for ourselves. This workbook is a map of the soul, allowing readers to reconnect with their inner child.
Once they've made that connection and are ready to heal some trauma, The Shadow Work journal is their for that. Searching for this book on TikTok will result in hundreds of videos of people crying into their cameras. This workbook asks the tough questions.
From tough questions to a tough read. Horror #BookTok is ready to put people into therapy. Recommendations are based on how hard a book is to stomach, and how difficult it is to sleep after reading one. No One Rides for Free has been making the rounds this year as one of the most disturbing books ever written. People are obsessed with this goosebumps inducing novel. It definitely goes on the shelf, though I may need to turn it backwards as even the cover art for this book makes me uncomfortable.
Finally, the cherry on top of this literary Sunday is Babel by R.F. Kwang. This novel blends theology, mythology, magic, and history to creat something truly unique. Written in a way that the lay-person can understand, Babel bridges the gap between entertainment and learning. Under any TikTok that mentions Babel, there is a thriving comment section discussing the writing style and historical accuracies of this book. It's one of the rare books on this list that sparks mostly critical discussions rather than heated debates. Babel teaches, entertains, and brings people together. It sounds out BookTok well and reminds us that books can be something more than the genre they're categorized into.
Natalie Jude Women in the Arts Scholarship
In December of 2023, I sat nervously across from my father, hands shaking as I informed him that I was non-binary. He responded that I would always be his daughter, and he would continue to refer to me by she/her pronouns.
I am lucky enough to be in a position where his words and opinions did not hurt me as deeply as I initially worried they would. This conversation made me realize how difficult it must be for others to understand the internal turmoil caused by body dysmorphia and gender-queer identities.
Through my piece "Conflict Child," I aimed to visually represent the difficulty of finding an identity on a binary scale. I used embroidery for this self-portrait to depict the fabric of self and how trying to fit into a binary mold pulls at the threads of what makes me who I am. The acrylic paint background is the spiraling thought pattern of self-deprecation and self-doubt.
At the bottom, the embroidered portraits unravel into nothing. This juxtaposition between the tight stitches and loose thread is the brain-body disconnect I feel daily. Since I began puberty at the early age of 11, my body has developed into one I do not feel comfortable in.
It's my favorite piece because of the cathartic process and the ability to communicate my crisis through paint and thread. Through my studies in art therapy, I hope to help others use art to process their struggles.
(This piece is the last slide of my portfolio.)
TBC Academic Scholarship
At the age of 15, while sitting in the waiting room outside my Counselor's office, I noticed a pamphlet that would irrevocably change the trajectory of my life. Poking over the top of leaflets for bake sales and sporting events were the words Mississippi School of the Arts. I'd always had a keen interest in expressing myself creatively, but the closest thing my school offered to an art class was band. Which I happily participated in.
I still remember lifting the paper pamphlet from its cubby. On the front was a drawing of a flaming phoenix, and below, a photo of a giant, red brick school building that looked straight out of a movie. MSA was a boarding high school with five concentration options: Theatre, Dance, Visual Art, Vocal, and Writing. Admissions required, essays, auditions, and maintenance of a 3.0 GPA. I poured over the information, reading the three tri-fold pages repeatedly. I could have cited them from memory.
The Counselor called me into her office, and the topic of our meeting had already shifted in my mind. I would no longer be asking about Vo-Tech classes. All I wanted to focus on was how to get into this school.
The Counselor attempted to let me down easily. We had no art classes, theater productions, or creative writing courses for me to take. I left the meeting a little discouraged, but my Counselor let me take the pamphlet home to show to my parents. Surely, they would have an answer.
The first thing my father said to me was, "We can't afford it. Schools like that are for rich kids."
At that age, nothing lit a fire under me like being told no. I decided that my best chance to gain admission was an audition. This left me with Theatre, Dance, and Vocal as concentration options. There was no way I would become a ballerina in the next six months, so Theatre and Dance it was.
I looked online for upcoming local productions and decided to audition for Mulan Jr. at my local little theater. I got a minor background role, which was the first achievement of my MSA application. Halfway through the performance schedule of Mulan Jr., I auditioned for another play titled "Heaven Help the Po' Taters." I was cast as the main love interest, and rehearsals began before the run of Mulan Jr. even finished. Two months later, I repeated this process, auditioning and rehearsing for Les Miserables while simultaneously performing in "Heaven Help the Po' Taters."
By the time MSA auditions came around, I had gone from no acting or singing experience to being in three plays, two of them musicals! This newfound interest didn't mean I could let my grades slide, so I squeezed homework and band practice into this packed schedule.
I may have been the one to do the work, but I'm immensely grateful to my parents and neighbors, who drove me to all of my rehearsals, auditions, practices, and performances.
Thanks to their patience and driver's licenses, I was able to attend MSA auditions and gain admittance as a theatre major. My dream was made real. I moved into the dorms and began a unique, difficult journey of self-discovery.
Now, I am beginning a new educational path to become an art therapist. I aim to assist others in using the arts as a tool for their own journeys of self-expression and healing.