I pay for my tuition and class supplies all on my own. My parents are gracious enough to allow me to stay home for as long as I need, which has been a huge blessing, but they are unable to offer any support towards my academic expenses, something they tell me time and again they wish they could change. I work full-time as a receptionist and still barely make enough to cover my tuition for two classes each semester. At the rate I'm going, it will be five years before I can finish my current degree. I will be twenty-five this year. I've worked hard to earn my Associate's degree, but once I began pursuing my Bachelor's, I changed my degree, which has set me back. I know there's no time limit on these things, and I shouldn't rush; however, with my current goals and dreams of someday being able to afford my own home and get a job in the animation industry after graduating from my current school, graduating quicker than five years would be more than ideal. This is why financial peace is so important to me. If I can get even a small bit of help from scholarships and grants, I'll finally be able to attend classes full-time and hopefully earn my Bachelor's in a much more reasonable time frame. Being able to pay for my classes without spending everything I have each semester would also allow me to be smarter with my money, begin saving, and maybe even look into investments. Right now, I have no room for investments, as each paycheck I receive goes towards my bills and tuition. However, with more financial peace, I'll have the freedom to put my money to work, so to speak. One of my eventual goals is to buy a property and rent it out while still living with my family. My parents have encouraged me to work towards this goal as it will allow me to increase my income while also saving money. Furthermore, I hope to be able to support my parents and provide for them in a bigger capacity. All of this to say, I have a lot of plans for once I'm able to pay for school without toeing the line of an empty wallet, however financial peace is a privilege that I do not take for granted. I will be forever grateful for any help that allows me to pursue both my educational and financial goals. Thank you so much for your consideration.

Hello, my name is Gabriella Grullón. I am a college senior and was previously enrolled in a different university's Business and Marketing program. It wasn't until 2023 that I realized I no longer wanted to pursue a degree in business but instead wished to follow my passion for the arts. I have since transferred and am currently enrolled at the Academy of Art University as a student in the Digital Animation: Visual Development program in pursuit of a Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts. Though many may not think art has anything to do with computers, digital programs and mechanical tools have become increasingly utilized in the artistic world over the past several years. I find myself utilizing programs on my computer to create my artistic pieces more often than I choose to pick up a pencil. Though the traditional arts will always be near and dear to my heart and I enjoy nothing more than to create with paint on canvas, the digital tools that are now available to artists have made the process so much more intuitive and allow me to create pieces that I never would have been able to create using traditional methods. Though some recent developments have created cause for concern within the art world, especially with the rise of generative AI, I still love seeing how other tools are created and developed and am filled with excitement over the prospect for new creations in the years to come. I absolutely love beautiful art that uses color and light to create mood and atmosphere. It amazes me whenever I see an artist depict an entire story in one scene with the use of colors and lighting. I want to learn how to do that, how to tell a story in a way that speaks to the soul. To be a part of projects, whether big or small, that will go on to inspire future generations just as movies, shows, and games inspired me as a small child. I want to have a part in creating stories that touch people's hearts and speak to them in ways they've always wished somebody would. If I can help even just one child pursue their passion for creativity, then that is more than I could ever ask for. Stories are so important as they help people feel seen. Not only are they entertaining visually and plot-wise, but stories can also spread important messages and teach lessons that stick with you for the rest of your life. So far, my experience at the Academy of Art University has been so wonderful, and I can see my skills gradually improving as I learn more about new artistic techniques and absorb new information. I've learned so much just in the few classes I've attended so far, and I'm so excited to keep learning and improving.Though I've got a lot to learn, I want to try my best in school so I can continue to grow and improve as an artist. So that someday, I'll find myself watching the credits roll, my name flashing across the screen, and the knowledge that, in some small way, I helped create something beautiful and impactful.

Hello, my name is Gabriella Grullón. I am a college senior and was previously enrolled in a different university's Business and Marketing program. It wasn't until 2023 that I realized I no longer wanted to pursue a degree in business but instead wished to follow my passion for the arts. I have since transferred and am currently enrolled at the Academy of Art University as a student in the Visual Development program in pursuit of a Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts. I've been an artist for as long as I can remember and have always loved creating. Art has been a huge part of my life, but I always felt like I needed to pursue a career outside of art in order to be successful. To now be able to pursue my passion as a career choice, rather than limiting myself to what many people would consider a "safer" option, has been wonderful and so very freeing. Luckily, I'm able to say that my family has always been very supportive of my journey as an artist, and they continue to strongly encourage me to pursue my passion for creativity. I'm so very grateful for their support and for allowing me to make the switch in career choice without questioning my decision or urging me to reconsider. So far, my experience at the Academy of Art University has been so wonderful, and I can see my skills gradually improving as I learn more about new artistic techniques and absorb new information. I've learned so much just in the few classes I've attended so far, and I'm so excited to keep learning and improving. However, art school comes with costs, and unfortunately, my family has always been less secure financially. While my parents make enough to support My brother and me, they don't have any room financially to fund my education, which has always been something they've made sure I understood growing up. Thus, I’ve worked hard over the years during my schooling to make sure I kept my grades up in hopes of receiving scholarships to fund my education. This worked for a while as I was able to earn my Associate’s after high school, completely paid for with scholarships and grants. Unfortunately, once I transferred and began pursuing my bachelor’s, I’ve no longer been offered enough scholarships to be able to afford my tuition. I had to take out a loan for the current semester; however, I very much don't want to continue doing so. I hope to be able to pay for my education without relying on loans, as I've seen how much my parents regret relying on loans back when they attempted to complete a college degree. Neither of them ended up finishing secondary school, yet they still ended up with thousands of dollars in student loan debt. Therefore, as the first college graduate in the family, I want to avoid dealing with student loans for years down the road. Any sort of help or support I can get that will allow me to pay for my school's tuition is greatly appreciated, and I'm so very grateful for any opportunity that may allow me to do so. Thank you for your consideration.

I've considered myself an artist for as long as I can remember. From a very young age, I've loved to create. However, it wasn't until I grew older that I began to truly appreciate art for what it is. Art is the expression of one's very inner self. It's the language that connects us all and the very fiber with which our world is woven. Everything we experience each day was created by careful hands and thoughtful minds. I am always amazed at how artists and writers can work together to create stories that are powerful enough to touch hearts. The fact that we can create things that make people laugh, cry, or consider the world around them is so beautiful to me. That is why I've chosen to pursue a career in animation. I want to someday work on projects, whether big or small, that will go on to inspire future generations to pursue their passions just as the movies and shows I watched as a small child inspired me. However, art school comes with costs and unfortunately my family has always been less secure financially. While my family makes enough to support us, they don't have any room financially to support my education which has always been something they've made sure I understood growing up. It's my hope to be able to pay for my education without relying on loans as I've seen how much my parents regret relying on loans back when they attempted to complete a college degree. Therefore, as the first college graduate in the family, I want to avoid dealing with student loans years down the road. Any sort of help or support I can get that will allow me to pay for my school's tuition is greatly appreciated.

Hello, my name is Gabriella Grullón. I am a college senior and was previously enrolled at a different university's Marketing program. It wasn't until 2023 that I realized I no longer wanted to pursue a degree in business but instead wish to follow my passion for the arts. I have since transferred and enrolled at the Academy of Art University as a student in the Visual Development program in pursuit of a Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts. I've been an artist for as long as I can remember and have always loved creating so to be able to pursue my passion as a career choice instead of limiting myself to what many people would consider to be a "safer" option has been so wonderful and freeing. Luckily, I'm able to say that my family has always been very supportive of my journey as an artist and continue to encourage me to pursue my passions, something I know many other might not be able to say. I'm so very grateful for their support and for allowing me to make the switch in career choice without questioning my decision. So far my, experience at the Academy of Art University has been so wonderful and I can definitely see my skills gradually improving as I learn more about new techniques and information. I've learned so much just in the few classes I've attended so far and I'm so excited to keep learning and improving. However, art school comes with costs and unfortunately my family has always been less secure financially. While my family makes enough to support us, they don't have any room financially to support my education in any way which has always been something they've made sure I understood growing up. I had to take out a loan for the current semester, however, I very much don't want to continue doing so. It's my hope to be able to pay for my education without relying on loans as I've seen how much my parents regret relying on loans back when they attempted to complete a college degree. Neither of them ended up finishing school yet still ended up with thousands of dollars in student loans. Therefore, as the first college graduate in the family, I want to avoid dealing with student loans years down the road. Any sort of help or support I can get that will allow me to pay for my school's tuition is greatly appreciated.

I've considered myself an artist for as long as I can remember. From a very young age, I've loved to create. However, it wasn't until I grew older that I began to truly appreciate art for what it is and how it effects the world around us. In short, art is the expression of one's very inner self and the language that connects us all. Art is the very fiber with which our world is woven. Everything we experience each day was created by careful hands and thoughtful minds. Art isn't limited simply to paintings and songs. The clothes we wear, the buildings we sleep in, the advertisements we see. Everything we interact with throughout our lives was created with an intentional purpose as a way to communicate some sort of message. Much like the colors and textures of a painting can tell a story to the viewer, our clothes come in different styles and colors thus allowing us to tell others more about ourselves through how we dress. Though art can be found everywhere, the biggest inspirations for me as an artist were the movies and games I enjoyed growing up. They are easily accessible for most and have a way of reaching into the viewer's heart and drawing them into the worlds they portray. I was amazed at how artists and writers can work together to create stories that are powerful enough to touch hearts. The fact that we can create things that make people laugh, cry, or consider the world around them is so beautiful to me. That is why I've chosen to pursue a career in animation. My dream is to someday work on projects, whether big or small, that will go on to inspire future generations just as the movies and shows I watched inspired me as a small child. I want to have a part in creating stories that touch people's hearts and speak to them in ways they've always wished somebody would. If I can help just even one child pursue their passion for creativity then that is more than I could ever ask for. Stories are so important as they help people feel seen. They can spread important messages and teach lessons that stick with you for the rest of your life. Though I still have a lot to learn, I want to try my best in school so I can continue to grow and improve as an artist. So that someday, I'll find myself watching the credits roll, my name flashing across the screen, and the knowledge that I helped create something beautiful.

I've considered myself an artist for as long as I can remember. From a very young age, I've loved to create. However, it wasn't until I grew older that I began to truly appreciate art for what it is. Art is the expression of one's very inner self. It's the language that connects us all and the very fiber with which our world is woven. Everything we experience each day was created by careful hands and thoughtful minds. Though art can be found everywhere, the biggest inspirations for me as an artist were the movies and games I enjoyed growing up. Some of my biggest inspirations included works by Hayao Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli, Dreamwork's animations like Prince of Egypt and the How To Train Your Dragon series, and Nickelodeon's Avatar: The Last Airbender. I also draw a lot of inspiration from video games such as Sky: Children of the Light, Hollow Knight, and Pokemon. There are so many other countless movies, tv shows, games, and books that inspire me as well which goes to show how much of an impact these stories have made both on me as a person and my works as an artist. These stories are easily accessible for most and have a way of reaching into the viewer's heart and drawing them into the worlds they portray. I was amazed at how artists and writers can work together to create stories that are powerful enough to touch one's soul. The fact that we can create things that make people laugh, cry, or consider the world around them is so beautiful to me. That is why I've chosen to pursue a career in animation, specifically, visual development. I absolutely love beautiful art that uses color and light to create mood and atmosphere. It amazes me whenever I see an artist depict an entire story in one scene with the use of colors and lighting. I want to learn how to do that, how to tell a story in a way that speaks to the soul. I want to be apart of projects, whether big or small, that will go on to inspire future generations just as movies, shows, and games inspired me as a small child. I want to have a part in creating stories that touch people's hearts and speak to them in ways they've always wished somebody would. If I can help just even one child pursue their passion for creativity then that is more than I could ever ask for. Stories are so important as they help people feel seen. Not only are they entertaining visually and plot-wise, stories can spread important messages and teach lessons that stick with you for the rest of your life. Though I've got a lot to learn, I want to try my best in school so I can continue to grow and improve as an artist. So that someday, I'll find myself watching the credits roll, my name flashing across the screen, and the knowledge that, in some small way, I helped create something beautiful and impactful.

I've considered myself an artist for as long as I can remember. From a very young age, I've loved to create. However, it wasn't until I grew older that I began to truly appreciate art for what it is. Art is the expression of one's very inner self. It's the language that connects us all and the very fiber with which our world is woven. Everything we experience each day was created by careful hands and thoughtful minds. Though art can be found everywhere, the biggest inspirations for me as an artist were the movies and games I enjoyed growing up. They are easily accessible for most and have a way of reaching into the viewer's heart and drawing them into the worlds they portray. I was amazed at how artists and writers are able to work together to create stories that are powerful enough to touch hearts. The fact that we can create things that make people laugh, cry, or consider the world around them is so beautiful to me. That is why I've chosen to pursue a career in animation. I want to someday work on projects, whether they be big or small, that will go on to inspire future generations just as the movies and shows I watched inspired me as a small child. I hope to have a part in creating stories that touch people's hearts and speak to them in ways they've always wished somebody would. If I can help just even one child pursue their passion for creativity then that is more than I could ever ask for. Stories are so important as they help people feel seen. They can spread important messages and teach lessons that stick with you for the rest of your life. Though I've got a lot to learn, I want to try my best in school so I can continue to grow and improve as an artist. So that someday, I'll find myself watching the credits roll, my name flashing across the screen, and the knowledge that I helped create something beautiful.

Do you remember the first time an animated movie made your heart stir? Like when Mufasa died protecting Simba or when Woody and Buzz finally got back to Andy. Animated movies have been making people feel things for generations. They make us laugh and cry as we cheer on our favorite characters. It is my dream to help make movies that will go on to inspire future generations. I want kids to watch movies that will give them a bigger appreciation for the world. I want kids to have the desire to go on adventures, to create, to discover new worlds and possibilities. Animated movies are able to speak to people’s hearts in ways that live action cinema may never be able to do. With the movies I will help make I want to bring great messages of positivity and inspiration that will help kids become better people as they grow older.

My name is Gabriella Grullon, I'm half Latina as my father was born and raised in the Dominican Republic and then moved to the United States where he met my mom. I am currently enrolled in a local community college and am about to complete my second year here. It is my dream to eventually get enough money to transfer to a top art school to get a degree in animation. Right now, I'm working towards getting enrolled at the Savannah College of Art and Design. I've already been accepted which was an amazing feeling when I got the email, so now my focus is on getting enough money from scholarships and grants to actually attend this coming year. My long-term goal after attending an art school is to use my animation degree to get a job at a studio where I can help create entertaining media that will hopefully inspire future generations of artists. I grew up loving art because I was surrounded by animated movies and shows that were filled with beautiful animation. I hope that maybe a few years from now, I'll create something that a child will watch and then throw up being inspired to create art just as movies in my childhood did for me.

This piece is a charcoal self-portrait I created as a way to see how much I've improved in my art. For the past four years, I've done a self-portrait every year. It's been a really interesting experience to look back and compare how my art has changed while using a subject that is seemingly unchanging to me. I feel like my attention to proportion is stronger and I've become a lot better at rendering hair in a realistic way. Hopefully, as I continue this little tradition, I'll learn new things and improve even more. This particular piece was created last year and is my favorite self-portrait thus far. My favorite part to create was the hair as I've always enjoyed planning out the bunches of hair and then creating the swooping highlights to really bring out the details. For the composition, I wanted the piece to resemble a victorian silhouette portrait. I chose to draw on black paper to do an inverse silhouette where everything was created using white instead of black. Using white charcoal on black paper also allows me to get better degrees of tone when rendering the skin. I had to really think about how I wanted everything to look while planning what color charcoal and paper to use and how I wanted to pose for the portrait. For my reference picture, I posed in front of a mirror and faced away from it to get an image of mostly my hair with a peek at my facial features. I wanted something dramatic in detail but with an overall solemn atmosphere thus is why I maintained a rather neutral expression. According to family members, this particular portrait is the most accurate representation of my face out of all my portraits created thus far. I hope that as the years go on, I'll be able to create even more beautiful and artistic portraits that are accurate representations of myself as I grow as both a human and an artist. I think it's important for artists to make a self-portrait every now and then because when you look back at them, you can see both your characteristics as an artist and also a look into how you once saw yourself. Self-portraits are kind of like a diary entry where you can lay bare all the thoughts you have in the moment. Since you're creating art of a face you see every day, creating a self-portrait also allows you to focus more on the art piece itself instead of trying to spend all your time making sure you're accurately capturing the characteristics of a person.

From my experiences, I've come to understand the term "art" as something that is intentionally created with the purpose to invoke some sort of emotion in its viewer. It's always been a strong belief of mine that art is the very foundation of our world. Everything we live, breathe, and see was artistically created with a purpose and invokes some sort of emotion. From the clothes, we wear to the mountains outside of our homes, we are constantly surrounded by things that were created and make us feel things. As a Christian, I believe that even the world is an artistic creation that God used to express his own thoughts and imagination. I like to think that our universe is like a beautiful painting, filled with beautiful details and swirling colors. Seeing the world as a conglomeration of artistic expressions makes everything seem just a little more beautiful and gives everything a whole new meaning to me. Coming to the realization of just how important and prevalent art is has allowed me to gain an even deeper appreciation for art and a stronger desire to inspire others with the art that I create. It is my dream to get a degree in animation and work somewhere that will allow me to create entertaining media that will inspire future generations of artists to go out and create more art for the world to enjoy. Being able to use my passion for art as not only a career path to make money but a lifestyle where I am constantly working to entertain and inspire others just feels right, like it's what I'm meant to do. It is my hope that I make the right choices and am able to successfully fulfill this dream of mine. Winning this scholarship will definitely help me achieve this goal. Due to my desired college's steep tuition cost and my family's inability to afford it, I'm relying solely on grants and scholarships to collect enough money to attend SCAD this coming year. I'm going to try my hardest to raise enough money before the Summer, but if I am unable to get the money in time, I've decided to pursue my degree in Animation elsewhere and not give up on my dream of working in the animated film industry. I say this with sincere gratitude, thank you so very much for this opportunity to win a scholarship that could possibly help lessen the financial burden of preparing for college.