Thank you for the opportunity to apply for the Female Empowerment Scholarship application. My name is Imani Robinson. I am currently a fourth-year student at the University of Saint Francis. My current goal is to graduate with a degree in animation, and my current GPA is 3.65 on a 4.0 grading scale. I decided to pick animation as my bachelor’s degree because I dream of creating an animation series featuring over 100 of my characters. Throughout my early childhood, each day was a challenge. From an early age, I was diagnosed with high-functioning autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). A few of my common symptoms were the inability to keep eye contact, sensitivity to specific sounds and textures, and difficulty understanding social cues. However, I was also hyper-focused on topics that interested and motivate me. Unfortunately, there were few peers in my group that understood what my diagnosis meant. This resulted in some negative interactions with individuals my age. Despite the interactions, I continued pressing on and used the interactions as a learning experience. Said interactions made me realize how other individuals with similar disabilities might have experienced the same hardships as me. Many believe themselves or are told, that there’s something wrong with them when that’s not the problem at all. The real situation is there are few organizations, communities, and educational programs that inform people about the autism spectrum, especially at a young age. The disabilities aren’t curable diseases, nor do they automatically set the individual back. They are just like everyone else you interact with; they just need more time to understand and interact. As someone on the spectrum, I want to make this impact creatively. I want to use my skills and hobbies as a creative way to make a positive impact on the world, especially on others on the spectrum. A great example to use is the media. Media such as social and television are used by millions of individuals. Using my animation and art skills, I want to create a special series using my characters who are on the spectrum. Properly representing unique aspects of the spectrum would help others be more aware of it, and to show that the character is just like everyone else. In addition, it allows the watchers who are also on the spectrum have a character they can relate to and feel comfortable and happy their conditions are becoming representational. It may seem like a small form of a positive impact, but even it can build a positive reaction that can spread throughout the world.