My single mother left me and my older sister in the care of my grandparents. My grandfather is the senior pastor of our church in the Little Haiti neighborhood of Miami. I am often told that I inherited my character of integrity, responsibility and discipline from him. However, I developed my sense of tolerance and advocacy from my grandmother. I grew up in, heard of, and seen so many humanitarian acts in my backyard. My grandparents both immigrated to the US in their late teens from Haiti. Struggling to pave the way for their family was not the end of their battles. They knew God had bigger plans My grandmother worked as a home health aide and opened up a clinic called "Solange Amalia's Clinic" in La Vallee de Jacmel back in Haiti. She never forgot her roots and would tell me the story of when she was a little girl in her rural town and watched a pregnant woman be wheeled for miles to the nearest hospital. She then noted that later that same day, the same woman came back in a body bag having succumbed to her injuries and losing the child. This traumatized my grandmother but also kept her moving to ensure that no one else where she grew up would have to face the same conditions for life-saving care. This inspired me to go into medicine. I strive to follow in the footsteps of my grandparents. I am majoring in Studio Arts as I come from an arts high school with a specialty in painting and drawing. However, I hope that minoring/potentially double majoring in Biology will allow me to fulfill the prerequisites required for medical school. I also hope to combine the two practices, arts and medicine, in a way never before seen.

At 8 years old, my single mother left me and my older sister in Florida as she moved away to Baltimore, Maryland to start a new job. Finally, before the start of the fourth grade I was reunited with my mom. I was excited to be in a new school and looking forward to experiencing my first snowfall, but I missed the sights and sounds that screamed Caribbean culture in our neighborhood in Miami. Although we had to leave a lot of stuff behind, a stunning photo of Bob Marley live in concert made it to Baltimore. I would often stare at the photo, mesmerized. One day, I decided to try to recreate the moment. I worked on sketching the photo constantly after school and still could not get it right. This prompted me to start watching videos on drawing and artistic techniques. A few months later, my mom walked into my room, saw it hanging on my mirror and asked where I bought the awesome sketch of Bob Marley. Until that moment, I did not think of myself as an artist. Looking back, I believe I started drawing as a way to cling to my childhood memories, but little did I know I was reconnecting with my roots and exhibiting the talents of my ancestors. Like all kids in my elementary school, I had art class two days a week. However, I took my art very seriously. So much so that my art teacher asked me to be her art helper, a job I kept until the last day of elementary school. During the summers, I took art classes at Towson University and also attended Girls Who Code. In middle school, I continued to pursue art by joining their art club which met every afternoon. I joined SAVE where I designed posters and stickers for schoolwide events. Around this time, parents hired me for their children’s parties for face painting. I am blessed to have found my passion so early in life. When the time came, I knew I wanted to attend a fine arts high school. I auditioned by submitting my portfolio to three competitive magnet schools for visual arts, including New World School of the Arts, Design & Architecture Senior High School, and Carver Center for Arts & Technology. I was accepted to all three. I learned and practiced several old master painting techniques some including underpaintings, Rembrandt lighting practices, as well as direct observation studies with figures. I was selected to join the AP Figure classes during my junior and senior year. It is here that a handful of students were entrusted with the maturity of studying the anatomy of nude models. We also produced life-size works during our free time using mixed media like gouache, markers, paints, and pastels. Although no one in my immediate family is an artist, as reflected in the bright colors and bold strokes of my pieces, I believe I have inherited the talent of my Haitian ancestors whose world-renowned artworks are found in museums and along the streets of Haiti. In my art, I can feel the fever pitch of reggae music originating from my Jamaican blood. Yet, in some of my pieces, there is a stillness like the cold winters of Canada where my mother was born. Art has allowed me to unite the various fragments of my identity and make me whole. I am pursuing a major in Studio Arts and a minor in Biology. As the financial strain of art supplies burdens me, I would be extremely grateful to be the recipient of this scholarship.

I will be pursuing a bachelor's degree in Studio Arts and potentially biology as that will be my intended focus alongside my arts degree. The church has been no stranger to me all my life. I was born in Miami, Florida and grew up in a Christian household. My mother, single and attending law school, left me and my older sister in the care of my grandparents. And every Sunday morning followed as such: My grandmother was in the kitchen, in her pastel dress and flamboyant hat, plating boiled plantains, sardines, greens, and red sauce. At the table, me, my sister, grandparents, and whichever distant family member lodging with us would hold hands for the blessing. Through this breakfast-time routine, I learned that the very foundation of my life begins with prayer, faith and family. Meanwhile, my grandfather, senior pastor of our church in the Little Haiti neighborhood of Miami, had his eyes glued to his watch as he was responsible for opening up the church for service. I share a unique bond with my grandfather. He is stern yet loving. I am often told that I inherited my character of integrity, responsibility and discipline from him. However, I developed my sense of tolerance and advocacy from my grandmother. For example, Christmas Eve called for early rest because of church service the next morning. The Cuban family next door blasting Latin music throughout the night made doing so quite difficult. Notwithstanding my grandfather’s grumbles, my grandmother cheerfully shared a dish and wished our neighbors a Merry Christmas. It was not only these character traits that I was blessed to learn from my grandparents however. They also taught me humility and the purpose of helping others whenever I could. I grew up in, heard of, and seen so many humanitarian acts in my own backyard and in my home country. My grandparents both immigrated to the US in their late teens from Haiti. Struggling to pave a way for their family after finding each other in this new country was not the end of their battles. They knew God had bigger plans for them. My grandmother worked as a home health aide and opened up a clinic called "Solange Amalia's Clinic" in La Vallee de Jacmel back in Haiti. She never forgot her roots and would tell me the story of when she was a little girl in her rural town and watched a pregnant woman be wheeled for miles to the nearest hospital. She then noted that later that same day, the same woman came back in a body bag having succumbed to her injuries and losing the child. This traumatized my grandmother but also kept her moving to ensure that no one else where she grew up would have to face the same conditions for life-saving care. This inspired me to go into medicine. I strive to follow in the footsteps of my grandparents as they work spiritually, mentally, and physically for others. I do my best to fight social injustices, provide support for those with mental health struggles, and advocate for those who struggle to speak up. I strive to help my community and provide a community to those around me. Now, I am majoring in Studio Arts as I come from an arts high school with a specialty in painting and drawing as well as film production. However, I hope that minoring or potentially double majoring in Biology will allow me to fulfill the prerequisites required for medical school. I also hope to combine the two practices, arts and medicine, in a way never before seen.

George Washington Carver Center for the Arts and Technology was the picture perfect highschool for me during my 8th grade year. When I was accepted into the Visual Arts prime for 2019-2023, I couldn't have been happier to get the opportunity to be involved in such an artistic and creative school. Music filled the halls in between class periods, our own running joke on our nonexistent football team eased any boasts from other highschools about their sport accolades, and major schoolwide events known to Carver only made everyone feel like a close-knit family. These events included but were definitely not limited to Carver Cafe (culinary prime selling food specific to a culture), Senior Art Shows (visual arts prime students displaying their pieces to sell and promote themselves), and Culture Fest (a schoolwide event run by Culture Club where multiple affiliation groups host tables on several countries and offer food, students from dance, vocal, and music primes perform, and the IT/IMP students create videogames to play). This made Carver notorious in Baltimore County for its diversity and inclusion. However, when Covid hit my freshman year, everything began to change substantially. Following our virtual year, my junior year saw Carver Center struggling to retain its glory. Culture Fest for example, due to covid safety issues, was no longer permitted to have so many students in one area at once and definitely could not share food. I have been a member of Culture Club since my freshman year seeing how principal the club was to upholding Carver traditions. Junior year I became an officer of Culture Club and worked to promote a socially distanced alternative of Culture Fest through various social media platforms and the school announcements. As successful as this was to the underclassmen that have yet to see the original grandeur, I knew more work had to be done. 2022 began my senior year. I was elected President of Culture Club. This paired with being an officer for National French Honor Society, a frequent member of National English Honor Society, and a member of our Varsity Badminton team put a lot on my plate. But that did not stop me from wanting to give all the students that came after me a glimpse of pre-covid Carver Culture before I graduate. I desire that to be my legacy at this school. I've worked diligently with administration and countless teachers to ensure that the event could be once again held properly. I've filmed and edited multiple announcement videos that have built up extreme hype for Culture Fest. I have spent hours on end with paperwork and working with the other officers in my club. And have judged in the auditions for our more musically inclined students to perform while the event takes place. Students, freshman to seniors, and teachers have known me as someone to contact for information as I have appeared in multiple classrooms to encourage participation and volunteering. Despite Culture Fest still being in its pre-production phase, I have the most confidence in the effectiveness of how the event will play out. Unfortunately, I know ahead of time that I will not be able to attend the event myself as I must fly to Jamaica a few days prior for a family emergency. Yet, this has not stopped my diligent effort to shine some positivity and hope in a new normal and happier times to come as we all celebrate our amazing diversity. I know that students have genuinely felt more passion knowing they have an opportunity to represent their own cultures as well as learn from others. Thank you!

Art's influence can come from every walk of life. I am a second generation American, from a Haitian, Jamaican, and Canadian family. I grew up in an immigrant-dominated city, exposed to various expressions of art. Whether it be architecture, music, food, clothing, or painting, I have been surrounded with artistic influences my entire life. My artwork is dominated by the colors and styles that I have witnessed growing up. These vibrant colors and styles are often found in the works of the artists who mimic the fruits and land along the streets of Haiti, which I observed when we visited during my childhood. I currently attend Carver Center, a fine arts high school where students are able to focus on their desired ambitions such as studio arts, performing art, culinary arts, IT, carpentry, cosmetology and more. This spectrum of influence has encouraged me immensely as an artist to push boundaries. For example, after my friend in IT became inspired by my drive for art, he decided to melt crayons and use it as a backsplash in his own videogame. We partnered together for our own melted-crayon dystopian surreal art piece. When my friends in carpentry finished building a huge shed, they offered me their scrap wood for my pyrography commission pieces. I am not only blessed through friends and family, but also through academic studies. In my engineering class, we were given an opportunity to advocate for an organization of our choosing. My partner and I constructed a functional large hot air balloon that promoted both Famn Ayisien Nan Miami (Haitian Women of Miami), a nonprofit organization that helps Haitian immigrants, and United We Dream, a national nonprofit organization that aids immigrants. When we launched our hot air balloon, it was symbolic of rising hopes and dreams of immigrant children.

My name is Lioness Wright. Despite being born in America, I was raised in a heavily immigrant-dominated city and introduced to people from many different walks of life. I moved through different schools countless times as a young child due to my mom studying at law school and needing me and my sister to live with my grandparents during that time. So, I experienced being in majority Hispanic, majority Haitian, majority Black, and majority White elementary schools. Although I was frequently the victim of bigotry, it never halted my innate belief that everyone deserves love and kindness. Not only did I spend 3 days a week in my grandparent's church, I also walked alongside them as they marched for justice through various social concerns faced in Miami, Florida. My grandparents on my mother's side were born in Haiti, with very little financial stability, and initially migrated to Canada for a better life for their children. They have since become pastors of their own church in Florida, and opened up a clinic, school, and hotel in Haiti. This strive for excellence in the people around them merges beautifully with their offering of biblical education and day care to children in Miami. On my father's side, I know very little about my Jamaican family history due to his absence through my childhood. However, as my mother married my Jamaican step father after decades of love, I was immersed in my Jamaican heritage. Visiting family, learning how to make food (curry, jerk, you name it), and helping children there express themselves artistically. Also owning a farm on the mountainside, which grew my love for animals. My mother is potent about the importance of generational wealth. For this reason she has bought land in almost every state she's lived in, aspiring to make such beneficial use of them similar to what her parents have done. She renovates homes and rents them out to families that require financial aid, which has albeit led to some issues of payment on time, but nonetheless makes her feel fulfilled by the security they know they have in a safe home. After the 2008 recession, such real estate properties she owned became almost impossible for her to maintain and uphold on her own without any other source of financial income. So, having graduated from Columbia University, she decided to attend law school as a plan B. Now she is a corporate lawyer who oversees buisness transactions and equity issues over many cases from marginalized groups that are frequently ignored. I am tremendously blessed to be part of such a hardworking and diligent family who have overcome numerous battles in their time. Regardless of major health, financial, or political scares that have been faced, they persevered. This is why I now desire entirely to follow in their footsteps and pave a brighter world for the generations that come after me. I am deeply interested real estate, having been so involved as a child. I found an extreme passion for art, having seen so much cultural expressions of it in Haiti and Jamaica. And I strive to help others the way my family has done, so I intend to go into the medical field after university in which ever way best suits my skills. I appreciate your time for reading my background story. I may have left out a lot, but there will never be enough words to describe the degree in which I intend to succeed, not only for myself, or my family, but for every child that comes from an immigrant family. Regardless of their financial or societal situation.