At the age of ten, I witnessed both my mother and father getting arrested at my home. From then on, until I was nearing eighteen about to graduate from high school, did my parents get released from incarceration. During these eight years, I had moved through homes of family members due to verbal and physical abuse, it felt I never had a home. Yet, in high school, I found a foundation and belonging. Especially in the art classroom! I created artwork about my life for portfolio submissions for the colleges that I was applying to, and used it as an outlet. I realized I could be someone who creates this space for others. Art became a therapeutic process for me. Only in high school and especially art class did I feel I had a foundation and place that I was not a burden from my parents' decisions. This is thanks to the educators in my life at the time, who now inspired me to go to higher education to become an educator as well. I realized that I could become the same teachers that fostered my growth and motivated my resilience, the teachers that supported me and encouraged me to chase my dreams, the teachers that lent me a helping hand when it came to navigating the world alone. I knew then, I have a dream to be this for my future community and students, and I would make sure that I used my childhood experiences to foster my perseverance. Thus, once I began applying for higher education, it became clear: it would create an immense financial burden. Getting loans or any financial assistance from outside federally was extremely difficult, as I had no help from parents or previous guardians. I was graciously accepted into Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY, but I quickly realized and had problems arise financially even after merit based awards and grants..I paid for my first semester of college out of pocket. I could barely afford food, often skipping meals. Art materials were repurposed, and I found ways to confront accessibility challenges which in turn made my art feel connected to me and my childhood as themes arose in my work, my parents' incarceration became empowering for me to share as I challenged my perspective and reconnected to my childhood in my work. I continued to work part-time during college, and it taught me more about new experiences in New York. As I reflect on my education journey this far, I can proudly say that I found positives even when it felt that my world was crumbling apart. It made me think about how education can be made accessible, and I began thinking about how I can foster this in my future classroom. This scholarship would aid in my tuition towards my education, helping me become a teacher to be a foundation for my future students that I hope to impact, as well as allow me to create my art and tell my story to resonate with those in my community and maybe one day even past that. I want to be someone who can make their classroom a home, just as my teachers did for me.

When I was moving from home to home due to my parents incarceration at the age of ten, I used art as an escape, a way to create imaginary worlds when I was suffering in my own. Due to my parents getting arrested, I had to move from different homes often. It created a lack of foundation, a feeling of being powerless, and practicing the harmful habit of suppressing emotions and traumatic experiences. I had already grown up loving art, so when I was experiencing these adversities, I often found comfort in creating my own imaginary worlds, characters, and fantastical artworks. As I was attending art classes in school, I began channeling my energy and emotions into my artwork. I remember getting my first Winsor & Newton watercolor palette travel set in middle school, Watercolor had this fluidity that was hard to control, it had a mind of its own, and there was beauty in that for a young artist, at that time the final product was the least of my worries since the process of using watercolor was soft, fluid, and calming. A serene escape from the adversities I experienced. In high school, my art teachers saw talent in me that I did not realize I had. When I struggled choosing my career, I thought about how the classroom became like home for me, I was not a burden, a place I could experiment with art materials and themes that helped me express my emotions. My art teacher told me one day, "You'd make a lovely art teacher, you have experiences you can utilize when working with students. Teach them how to use art in the way that you use art." I teared up, realizing that the art classroom is my home. It saved me, and I now am attending Pratt institute as an Art Education major with a painting focus. I hope to teach watercolor (I have in student-teaching already!) and share my love for the serene paint medium. The two pieces I attached are a lesson I taught to high school freshman of abstract watercolor landscapes, a way of re-imagining color in a place that felt serene for them. I also attached a personal art piece using watercolor on hand stretched canvas, with collaged watercolor flowers abstractly composed around the fawn, meant to symbolize being cared for and nestled away in comfort alone as a young fawn.

When my parents were arrested on our front doorstep, I felt powerless. As a ten year old girl, I could not do anything to 'save' them. The families I moved in and out of, I had no control over. It felt that I was constantly a burden that had nowhere I belonged or was wanted. Home was a foreign term. When I was fourteen, I ran away from an unsafe household to live somewhere that could be even slightly safer. As I was in my first year of high school, I began developing a sense of fear that I would have to leave the school that finally started feeling like a foundation which I lacked. At the time, I had began taking art classes and connected with two of the most amazing human beings: My art teachers. Not only did they fight for me to stay at my high school, they also became my rock. I felt wanted. Heard. Comforted. Like I finally belonged. They connected me to my amazing school counselor, and we all wrote a letter to the superintendent: I managed to have permission to stay until graduation! Through high school, I worked part-time, signing up for clubs and extracurriculars like sports by paying my own fees with the support of my teachers. I finally had a place where I belonged, building a community, and especially in the art classroom.. I prospered. Through my perseverance, I used the art making process as a vessel, channeling all of these emotions into my artwork as a therapeutic practice. I continued building my relationship with my art teachers, and they inspired me to remember dreams are closer in reach than I think. When I was visiting my art teacher during lunch to work on a painting, I told her I was thinking about my future, how I love art and being in school, but I am scared about money. I had financially supported myself on the brink of homelessness for years, never knowing what could be next, the fear of not having a stable good paying job crippled me with anxiety, I looked in a shallow lens : do something that makes a lot of money. But is it what I wanted? What even are the options? I had no mom or dad to tell me their experience, neither went to college. I had no one to help me with financial needs. I had no one that would hold my hand and say "I am covering the cost of your education". My art teacher nodded, telling me "you know, I think you'd make a wonderful art teacher. I can just feel it in my heart". Without realizing, I had began tearing up. This is what I am meant to do. I want to connect, build foundations, build a home for my future students just as my art teachers did for me. My teacher encouraged me to go somewhere aligned with my want to expand my cultural lens, an integrative curriculum focused on non-punitive pedagogy and culturally responsive teaching, and somewhere that would support me. Somewhere I could spread my wings and fly independently, and make my own new home. My teachers personally aided me in my essay, FAFSA, applications, and portfolio building. Without them, I would not be where I am, perhaps even alive. They supported me in ways I will never forget, and reminded me that my adverse experience would be a story full of wisdom to share to my future students to remind us that we CAN persevere and we CAN grow stronger, and to be there to comfort them when strength feels out of reach. I strive to become an art teacher that can encourage students to focus on using the process of art making as a way to channel their emotions, rather than a focus on the final product. I have a passion to make education accessible to those of all economic backgrounds, I want to support the community I am in and build us together to be stronger as a teacher. Teaching is my passion, and I will use my experience as a way to develop a meaningful and safe environment in my classroom, where students feel safe, where they feel they belong. You never know what could be happening to the student outside a classroom. My teachers saved a life by asking me questions and building the same meaningful relationship in the classroom. I will forever remember it, and use the same mindset in my classroom.

At the age of ten, I witnessed both my mother and father getting arrested on my front doorstep. From then on, until I was nearing eighteen about to graduate from high school, did my parents get released from incarceration. During these eight years, I had moved through homes of family members due to verbal and physical abuse, constantly changing schools, and taking the process of applying for higher education and any extracurriculars during high school all in my own hands. I worked part time at the age of fourteen during school and still managed to graduate high school with a 3.7 GPA. I worked hard in high school and created artwork about my life for portfolio submissions for colleges I was applying to. Art became a therapeutic process for me, only in high school and especially art class did I feel I had a foundation and place that I was not a burden from my parents' decisions. This is thanks to the educators in my life at the time, who now inspired me to go to higher education to become an educator as well! I persevered, and learned immense knowledge and wisdom at a younger age. When applying for higher education, it became clear that having no parental financial assistance would create an immense financial burden. Getting loans or any financial assistance from outside federally was extremely difficult, as I had no help from parents, guardians, and had to figure it out myself. I was graciously accepted into Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY, but I quickly realized and had problems arise financially even after merit based awards and grants. I paid for my first semester of college out of pocket and worked part time through school. I could barely afford food, often skipping meals. Art materials were repurposed for financial reasons, but I found ways to confront accessibility challenges which in turn made my art feel connected to me and my childhood as themes arose in my work such as my parents' incarceration, which became empowering for me to share as I challenged my perspective and reconnected to my childhood in my work. Today, I am successfully about to graduate from college with a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Art and Design Education and a minor in Museum and Gallery Practices. Since my first semester, even through all adversities, I managed to be on the presidents list every semester for my GPA as well as working part time while being a full time student. My challenges have only fostered my growth, and I have prospered in my education, and my passion has grown to become a teacher. I was accepted into a masters combined program at Pratt Institute for Art Education and would like to continue my journey but am suffering financially. This scholarship would aid in my tuition towards my education, helping me become a teacher to be a foundation for my future students that I hope to impact just as my teachers did for me.