To me, taking up space means for a voice to be heard. Taking up space means standing up for what's right. I apply this ideology to my daily life by speaking out and not backing down so my voice is heard. As a woman, I have dealt with many situations that were sexist toward me and have witnessed sexism towards others around me. Speaking up is sometimes difficult, but is a very crucial part of making your voice heard and taking up space. In many art fields, the percentage of women has increased substantially in recent years. The entertainment art career that I would like to go into after graduating still faces gender bias. Thankfully, now more than ever there are many women from all sorts of different backgrounds directing, producing, and being the art directors for film/television shows. Although this is a big step in the right direction for women in entertainment art, we still face gender bias when it comes to careers in this field. I would like more girls and women to be able to follow their dreams without having to deal with these archaic societal constructs holding them back. I believe that we can achieve this by applying the aforementioned ideas of standing up for ourselves, letting our voice be heard, and not backing down even if met with harsh criticism. In turn, this with allow women to take up space, get their ideas out there, and hold a larger place in career fields that still have a lot of gender bias. My mom was never able to go to college because of financial and parental issues. One of her big reasons for joining the military was so she could help give me the opportunities that she was unable to have after graduating high school. She inspires me to keep moving forward and reach my goals in my future career, hobbies, and life in general. I aspire to make a positive impact on the world by showing other girls that they can do anything if they put their minds to it. My goal is to make movies and television shows that inspire others and bring people together. I want to encourage other girls to work hard and follow their dreams. Everyone must get a fair chance to achieve their goals, no matter their gender, race, or religion. Even if I were to never achieve my goals I will still take up space and advocate for others so they can hopefully achieve theirs.

Education has always been my freedom. I am a first-generation college student and the only one out of my siblings to graduate high school. I took all the opportunities that I could in high school. I always knew I wanted to pursue a career in the art field, but that never stopped me from broadening my academic horizons. I challenged myself during high school and took many honor classes. I worked hard on progressing with my art skills, but never let that be the only thing I focused on. I wanted to give everything a chance and take as many of the opportunities available to me as I could to learn as much as possible. My mom joined the military to give my sisters and me a chance to pursue higher education. Not a single day goes by that I don’t think about what my mom gave up for me. I am reminded of that every day when I go to my college, that my mom put herself through so much just so I could have a higher education. Education has made a large impact on shaping my worldview. Without it, I may have not been able to travel around the world from the comfort of a classroom or my bedroom. Education gives me the ability to see everything. It has taught me so much about places I have never been to, it also gives me an escape from my day-to-day life. It gives me a look into other people's lives and cultures, and things that happened long ago. To me, being able to get an education is one of the highest privileges a human can have. I come from a family where most of them were unable to finish their high school education, or even begin higher education at a college. I am so grateful that I was able to get a good education not only during my education as a child and teenager but a good higher education as well. I grew up in a right-leaning political, catholic home, with parents who were in the military. For the longest time, I just agreed with whatever my parents said. I believe that everyone has the right to their own opinion. However, because of education, I could form my own opinion on political issues and spiritual ties. I am so thankful for having the privilege of education because I can learn about both sides of everything. I can see other people's views and thoughts and understand them. Education is a doorway that leads to other places, time-periods, cultures, and people's thoughts. For me, education is my freedom and has broadened my horizons coming from a sheltered upbringing.

Education has always been my freedom. I am a first-generation college student and the only one out of my siblings to graduate high school. I took all the opportunities that I could in high school. I always knew I wanted to pursue a career in the art field, but that never stopped me from broadening my academic horizons. I challenged myself during high school and took many honor classes. I worked hard on progressing with my art skills, but never let that be the only thing I focused on. I wanted to give everything a chance and take as many of the opportunities available to me as I could to learn as much as possible. My parents joined the military to give my sisters and me a chance to pursue higher education. Not a single day goes by that I don’t think about what my parents gave up for me. I am reminded of that every day when I go to my college, that my parents put themselves through so much so I could have a higher education. Their service has inspired me to never give up. Each time life knocks me down, I get back up and try again. What fuels my passion for education is the sacrifices my parents have made and my thirst for knowledge. To me, knowledge is the highest power you can obtain. I come from a family where most of them were unable to finish their high school education, or even begin higher education at a college. Graduating high school and attending college allowed me to pursue my dreams. Even though college for me comes with many financial setbacks, I am very thankful that I have the privilege to go. With this privilege, I want to eventually use my degree to create things for others to enjoy. I want to work on film/television shows for kids to relate to, enjoy, and hopefully inspire them to follow their passion as it has inspired me. I believe art and music are important to society because everybody interprets them differently. Every human being comes in contact with various forms of art every day in their music playlist, tv shows, the architecture of their homes, etc. Art and music give people the ability to express themselves. It gives others a peek into a window of the artist's head. Creating art and music is not only to express oneself but it is also to make the world more beautiful, to make things more interesting, as well as allow people to understand what you can't express in any other way. This gives us so many windows to peek inside to see all sorts of different experiences, educating everyone a bit more one art piece or song lyric at a time.

I have always known that my family was a dog family. We have always had dogs in our home, whether they were Chihuahuas or Dobermans. At one point in my life, we had about five dogs in our home. Granted it was a bit crowded but I enjoyed every minute of it. Out of the many dogs I had the pleasure to take care of and call my friends, one dog, in particular, changed my life. Her name was Molly. We got her the day before my 11th birthday. She was a Doberman/Rottewiller mix. We got her when she was only about six months old, from the moment I saw her I knew we would be best of friends. The night we got her I took all of my stuffed animals off my bed so she could sleep with me since we hadn't been able to get a bed for her yet. I could tell she was a bit nervous getting used to her surroundings but when I was around she was more relaxed. She gave me a friendship I never knew I would need. I remember the times I would take her for a walk while I rode in my rollerskates. She loved pulling me and running as fast as she could. As well as the times I would watch her chase the lizards on our backyard walls. Unfortunately, after my parents got a divorce Molly passed away. I was never able to say goodbye to her. However, my dog Molly taught me to apperciate life as we live it. From all the joyful memories I had with her it reminds me to live life in the moment and enjoy the small things in life. I am so glad she was a part of my life and I was a part of hers, even if it was for a short time.

My experience as a daughter of two Army veteran parents has shaped my career aspirations intensely. But it has also shaped how I live my life even today. I grew up constantly moving from military base to military base. I stayed in many hotels and went to many PXs and Commissaries. I would stand up next to my parents for the pledge before we would watch a movie in the base theater. Go to the bring your family to PT events. All of these things were my idea of normal. The constant change was one of the only stable things in my life. If I am being honest, change and all of the things that came with it may have been normal to me. But, it didn't make it any less hard. My father was in the Army for about 10 years, but it came to a point where my father's paycheck wasn't enough to help support the family of 6, so my mother joined as well. In my mind, my parents gave up the freedom of their dreams to provide for our family. Without that, I would've never been able to follow my dreams. They made a huge sacrifice so our future would have many possibilities open to us. I watched them work hard to provide for us and be determined to make the best of any circumstances. Witnessing this has given me the ability to apply that to my life. They have inspired me to put my best foot forward, never give up, and always do what you can to help others. My goal is to be a Concept Artist. The art field is very competitive. Being taught by my parents to put my best foot forward and keep trying will help me go far in the future. There will probably be many times my ideas will be turned down. However, because of my parents, I know that I have to keep trying then one day someone will like one of my ideas. I hope to use my creations to help and inspire others. Hopefully, one day I will be in a position where I can give someone else a chance who wants to make a difference with their art. Just like my parents gave me the ability to follow my goals. I am so thankful for my parents because without them joining the military I may have never been able to pursue my dreams of higher education. Hopefully, by working hard and following my dreams I will be successful enough to pass along the favor to other people like me, who want to make a difference and work hard for their goals and aspirations.

Something that is on my bucket list is to travel to different countries, none in specific but I would just love to immerse myself in a different culture. Another thing on my bucket list is to face my fear and get my driver's license. I have quite bad PTSD when it comes to being in cars from the bad experiences I had growing up. But I want to try and work towards facing my fear and be able to drive so I can be more independent. I feel like I have achieved a lot in my short life. I moved across the country to go to art college, the first in my family to do so right after high school. I also have improved my painting skills immensely since being here, which has always been on my bucket list. I also have achieved graduating high school, which seems easier said than done. I hope I can achieve much more in the years to come.

The main thing I would stand for is inclusitivioty. I know what it is like to feel left out and not wanted. But I believe including everyone is very important. This gives humans the ability to learn about each other, learn similarities and differences. I think it is fascinating learn about other peoples lives and how they see the world. Without inclusitivioty we wouldn't be able to share cultures and information. This is why inclusitivioty is so important.

Hi! My name is Leighanna Martin. I am 19 years old and my family is from Maine, however, I like to say I am from everywhere. Both of my parents were in the military while I was growing up, so luckily and sometimes unluckily we moved around quite a bit. At the moment I am attending Northwest College of Art and Design in Tacoma Washington, which is one of the places where grew up. I am getting a degree in Illustration and Graphic Design, and hopefully, from there I can move into an entertainment art career and work on film and television shows. My plan to make an impact through this career field is to inspire others and bring them together through my work. For instance, the "Harry Potter" movies and books have brought together millions of people from all over the world, it has bonded families closer because it is something they can share. I know for me, it was something special my sisters and I watched every year during Christmas time when it was on the "ABC Family" channel. My eldest sister was the one who got me and my other older sister into it. Unfortunately, she has since passed away, but those movies have left such an impact on me because they brought my sisters and me together. Now that she has passed I will always have these movies to remember her by. I am interested in this field because I want to create and share my creations with others in hopes they will bring people together or inspire them to create. Something I have learned from books I have read was to be courageous. Though in most of these books, like "Harry Potter" they are being courageous to fight a monster, or stand up to Voldemort. What I take away is to be courageous in my own life. There is that saying that "You miss every opportunity you don't take." I think that quote is something to always think about. I try to remind myself to be courageous like the characters in movies/tv shows, and books, but being courageous in taking every opportunity even if I think it may not go my way. It is always important to try. :)

1. A time I experienced the arts in my community was when I would watch my mom paint murals for her unit when she was in the military. This showed how dedicated she was to her unit and our military base's community. It impacted me by showing me to always be giving and be kind to others. 2. My favorite teacher from high school was my 11th-grade English teacher and advisor Mr. Morse. I think the most important lesson learned from him was to be true to yourself and never stop asking questions. 3. I think the arts help communities by pulling us together. Art is a common ground and what I mean is it is something we can all use to express ourselves. Art comes in many different forms but it is the glue that holds people together. It gives us a looks into someone else's experiences. One example of a program I would create when I am older for my community would be a movie or tv show club, hopefully in my own movie theater. Like I said art comes in many forms and I believe entertainment art is one of the most relevant forms of today's time. Being able to discuss what people liked and didn't like and have enriching conversations about how a creative put this film/show together is very important especially for people who may want to go into this field. Sometime's these movies/shows can touch our hearts in unexpected ways and I think it would be nice to be able to share that with others. 4. A time I failed was when I didn't apply for many scholarships while I was still in high school. I had a hard time finding ones that applied to me so I only filled out the ones my college provided. The impact it had on me was it taught me to take every opportunity I am given, even if it is a lot of work.

The thing that drives my passion for art is my mom. She was never able to attend college herself because of not having enough money, she went into the military just to give my sister's and I a chance to go to college. She inspires me everyday to keep doing my best and trying my hardest. I want to make her proud and let her know her sacrifices are not going to waste and they are very much appreciated. This scholarship would help me do just that. This scholarship would really help me be able to follow my dreams and not have huge amounts of student debt chained to my ankles. I want to be successful in the Illustration career so I can show other young girls that anything is possible if you are determined and willing to put the work into it. Just like my mom did for my sister's and I. Just like I am trying to do now. This scholarship would be a great opportunity for me to get to my dream and hopefully impacting others enough to follow theirs.

My experience as a daughter of two army veteran parents has shaped my career aspirations greatly. Watching them work hard to provide for their family, and be determined to make the best of any situation has given me the ability to apply that to my life. They have inspired me to always put my best foot forward and never give up. Having to endure and be able to get back up after something pulls you down is something else I have learned from my parents. These all shaped my career aspirations because I want to go into Entertainment Art, which is a very competitive field. Being taught how to always put your best foot forward and just keep trying even when you miss, I know will help me going into this field. There will probably be a lot of times my ideas will be shot down but because of my parents, I know that I just have to keep trying and one day I will get there. I am so thankful for them because without my parents joining the military I may have never been given the chance to pursue my dreams of going to college. Hopefully, by following my dreams I will be successful enough to take care of them one day and return the favor.

This is one of my most recent favorite pieces of art I have done. This is a hybrid portrait of my 8-year-old nephew and a werewolf. The inspiration I had to create this piece is our shared love of Halloween. I wanted to make him this portrait to capture the rambunctiousness and fun side of his personality. He can be very sweet but he is also very mischievous like most young kids are at that age. In order to make a hybrid of him and a werewolf, I used references from "Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet the Wolfman." In this movie, poor sweet Theodore is turned into a werewolf, and I thought it was a good reference to how the hair and face could look. The other reference I used was Eddie Munster from the 1960's television show "The Munsters." Though my nephew does not have as steep of a widow's peak as Eddie, I thought it was a great reference to use for inspiration. I made this portrait for him to have while I am away at college. I miss him very much and wanted to give him something to remember me while I am away. My mom and I have been taking care of him since he was about two, so he is a very important part of my life. Unfortunately, his mother, my older sister, passed away a few years ago. I wasn't in contact with her the few years before she passed away either, so my nephew is really what I have left of her. I make sure to make him things like this during my time in college so he knows just how much I care for him and love him.

Ever since I can remember I have loved cartoons and movies. Growing up, both of my parents were in the military so I moved around quite often. Moving around so much can be hard, especially for young kids. One thing that comforted me while moving around a lot was the cartoons and movies on TV. No matter where I went they were always the same. This inspired me from a young age to pursue a career in entertainment art. I want to make cartoons for kids who are like I was, to relate to, something for them to escape from daily life, to enjoy, and hopefully to inspire them to follow their passion as well. I believe art and music are important to society because it is truly what makes the world go round. Every human being comes in contact with different types of art every day, all sorts of music, entertainment art, fine art, architecture, etc. Art and music give people the ability to express themselves. It gives others a peek into a window of the artist's head. Creating art and music is not only to express oneself but it is also to make the world more beautiful, to make things more interesting, to make people understand what you can't express any other way. Expressing yourself can also inspire others to express themselves. This gives us so many windows to peek inside to see all sorts of different experiences, educating everyone a bit more one art piece or song lyric at a time.

My vision is to create things that make people want to create things themselves. I grew up an Army brat and one thing that always stayed the same for me was movies and cartoons, because no matter where you go it's the same, well at least in the US and most European countries. My mom is a very artistic person she loves photography and painting, she inspires me every day to keep pushing through and trying my hardest. She was never able to finish her art degree because she had to work so much to provide for my sister and me. Which I know is the case for many parents who had to give up their dreams in order to give their children the best life they could. I want to work on films and television to inspire other kids, to give them that sense of hope I was given, to give them a dream to reach for. The art pieces I chose are all very important to me and two of them were gifts for others. The first piece is a master copy painting of 'Portrait of a Little Girl" by Diego Velazquez. This was an assignment for my painting class and I hold this painting so close to me because once I finished it I was so proud of how it came out. It gave me the realization that I can do this. The second is a Hybrid Portrait of my nephew as a werewolf. This was a gift for him, he loves movies and TV as much as I do since my mom and I raised him. I wanted to give him something that represented that special bond between us. I always say he is my kid, and I want to do my absolute best for him.