Many people take teachers for granted. For me though, I cherish many of the teachers who inspired and influenced me growing up. There have been a lot of teachers in my life that have made a huge impact on the type of person that I am today. As a soft-spoken person, I have always struggled to make my voice heard. But many of my teachers were quite understanding. They took the time to reach my heart, show me how to form my own voice, and how to self-advocate. They showed me that there is more than one way to make your voice heard. Especially my art teachers, who urged me to tap into creativity as a medium to express my thoughts, feelings, emotions, and ambitions in ways that I otherwise would not have been able to put into words, with art. The past few years have been a lot on me and my family. It was very isolating, stressful, and mentally draining. Under an unpredictable and chaotic home life, my art teachers had been a haven. They truly listened to me as no one else had. I realized right then that their warmth, love and compassion were something precious, and that that feeling of being understood, accepted and valued was something I wanted other people to feel because of me. I want to help others, and I want to help them grow too. Overall, my biggest goal is to become an art teacher and influence my students to find creative outlets to express themselves and find their identity. And especially as an African American woman, I want my students to feel represented in the classroom. Despite growing up in a culturally diverse place like Maryland, a majority of my teachers weren't very diverse—with only 2 or 3 being people of color. Of course, this wasn't the end of the world, but I realized how unfortunate the lack of diversity in the education field was. If I had gotten a Nigerian woman as a teacher growing up, I would definitely feel validated as a Nigerian/African-American girl. My teaching and interpersonal skills aren't the best, but my inexperience is only temporary. I know that by majoring in Art Teacher Education I will be able to gain the experience needed to become an effective teacher, not just through the classes I take, but also through my interactions with others with similar goals who are just as passionate about art and teaching as I am.

As a kid, not long after discovering my passion for making art, I realized that I could express myself through art just as much. My brush became my pen, my canvas was the world, and with it, I could paint one work that was worth pages of speech. That's something I really love about art making. You can use art to express things about yourself that you couldn't put into words. You can use it to dig into who you are, and discover parts of yourself you may have never noticed before. Sometimes I could express what I was feeling through a doodle sooner than I would realize how I was actually feeling myself. Even when I couldn't bring myself to finish a piece, I felt comfort knowing I could always turn to art, even when everything else felt uncertain. I noticed that expressing my experiences through my art helps me better understand both myself and the world around me. My subjects are typically black people, and more specifically black women with a variety of skin tones and unique features. A lot of my art this year focused on identity, culture, and self love too. Throughout all the art that I've worked on this year, especially the ones that helped me focus on my own identity as an African-American woman, they really helped me think deeply about who I was, how I could try to interpret it, and how I can represent myself within my work to others. Not only that, but I also saw how sharing my art helped open a discussion with others who were also on a journey trying to figure out their identity, and seeing my art helped them take a step in the right direction to self love as well. I aim for my art to be relatable to others and help them feel seen, but also better understand who they are as well. Sometimes seeing how someone else interprets a concept and shares it can be validating, like forming an idea in a way that you couldn't figure out how to put into words. Drawing is a comforting hobby, and I've found that being able to share my happiness with others spreads happiness to them as well. Next to art, teaching is one of my greatest passions, and becoming an art teacher is my dream. I realize the impact that creating art has made on my life, and I want to help others come to that realization too. I want to push and encourage my future students to see the beauty of art, and how in a world where we can feel so powerless, so forgotten, and so lost, the power to create is like a beacon of light that we find within ourselves; one that we can use to find and connect with others. This is how I want to help my community. Becoming an art teacher is my dream, and I know I can get there as long as I take it one step at a time.

My goal when making art has always been to send some sort of message while being visually appealing. I make art with the hope that it makes people stop, stare, and think. As an artist, I try to embed my interests and experiences into my art. I have a particular fascination with adding smaller details to my work, like adding symbolism to convey a deeper meaning or to tell multiple stories at once. I do this in numerous ways; through use of color schemes, lighting, composition, even down to the texture of the medium I choose to work with. I believe it becomes more engaging when you realize that the longer you look at my work, the bigger the picture seems to get. Your first interpretation of it may not be the only interpretation, and each time you look at it, the meaning can change. I want my art to broaden the minds of people who see it. I find that my biggest inspirations are the people around me. I noticed that I learn more about myself as I experience others, and that expressing my experiences through my art helps me better understand both myself and the world around me. My subjects are typically black people, and more specifically black women with a variety of skin tones and unique features. For example, my last AP portfolio focused on identity, figuring out who you are, being connected to my culture as an African American/Nigerian American. That series of artworks focusing on the themes of cultural identity and cultural disconnect really helped me take the time to understand who I am, and to learn to accept all the little parts of my identity. My favorite painting, titled "Identity", is a lenticular painting that changes between two red and blue portraits depending on the angle that you look at it within a room, and coming together as one cohesive image when you look at it straight ahead. It symbolizes the synthesis of the two parts of my identity, and involved a lot of experimenting and risk-taking to create. Throughout all the art that I've worked on this year, especially the ones that helped me focus on my identity, they really helped me think deeply about who I was, how I could try to interpret it, and how I can represent myself within my work to others. I hope that my art can relate to others by helping them feel seen, but also better understand who they are as well. That's something I really love about art making. You can use art to express things about yourself that you may struggle to put into words. You can use art to dig into who you are, and discover parts of yourself you may have never noticed before. I think that's beautiful. With all of this in mind however, I never would have come to this conclusion on my own. My art teachers were always patient with me, and helped me push myself artistically. Through them, I realized the power of art. My teachers really helped me hone my skills and push the limits of what I thought art was to me. After being touched by several of my own teachers, I have been motivated to become an art teacher myself. I want to give my students that warmth and kindness that touched me, and inspire them to want to help others. Becoming an art teacher is my dream, and I know I can get there as long as I take it one step at a time.

My artwork, titled "Identity?" is somewhat of a “lenticular” painting, which essentially means that the image can move or change as you view it at different angles. From one angle to the right, you see a red-toned portrait of a woman wearing traditional Nigerian dress. She wears big geometric jewelry and a beautiful rose-like gele, a headwrap worn for special occasions or formal events. She faces the left but looks to the right. From the left, you see a more blue toned portrait of the same woman wearing a more American/Westernized wardrobe. Her jewelry is smaller and much more circular, and she also faces left but instead looks to the left. When you look at it head on, you can kind of see a 3rd new image synthesizing the two into one whole purple-ish person. As you walk past it, the artwork as a whole transitions colors and looks as though her eyes are shifting. One might say they’re even following your gaze. As a Nigerian-American, I wanted to focus my art on identity, and more specifically, my cultural identity. Growing up in a Nigerian household, while living in an American/black community has been a very unique experience, so I focused on showing the duality of these parts of my identity, like two sides of the same coin. Last year, for my AP Art class, my portfolio focused on cultural identity and cultural disconnect. For years, I felt disconnected from my cultural identity. I felt too African to fit in with my American peers, but acted too American to relate with my African relatives. That series of artworks focusing on those themes really helped me take the time to understand who I am, and learn to accept all of the little parts of my identity. I also saw how sharing my art helped open a discussion with others who were also on a journey trying to figure out their identity, and seeing my art helped them take a step in the right direction to self-love as well. That's something I really love about art making. You can use art to express things about yourself that you may struggle to put into words. You can use art to dig into who you are, and discover parts of yourself you may have never noticed before. I think that's beautiful. Working on this painting involved a lot of experimenting and risk-taking to create- both literally and figuratively. This theme forced me to face my internal struggle head on, to reflect on who I thought I was, to fight my inner self. And well... I'm still figuring it out. But instead of just saying, "I'm disconnected from my culture, what a shame." I asked myself why? Why was I so removed from it? What even makes up my culture? Does being American mean I have to reject my Nigerian roots? And does trying to reconnect with said roots mean I must sacrifice/ignore my experiences as a black American? When I started, I thought I would finish it feeling closer to my culture. But as I worked I realized that my experiences are unique- I'm not just an American teen, like my grandmother calls me. And I'm not exactly the perfect Nigerian daughter my mom expects. But I'm a bit of both, all of them mix & mesh together into some weird amalgamation that just makes Me. And I don't really need a label for that. In the end, this became a self-love project. An ode to myself, and an ode to the family and experiences I grew up with.

As an African-American, and more specifically a Nigerian-American woman, my dream is to become an art teacher. I believe having role models and mentors that look like you are crucial to growing up. It gives a sense of belonging and pushes impressionable children to know they are more capable than this harsh world wants them to think. Despite growing up in Baltimore, an area brimming with a surplus of African Americans, black, and people of color, I didn't have a lot of black teachers, let alone teachers who were of the same ethnicity as me. Of course, this wasn't the end of the world. But it made me realize how unfortunate the lack of diversity in the education field was. If I had a person of authority who looked like me and came from the same background as me, I would have felt like I fit in more and I could make deeper connections with them. The teachers I have now and have had in the past were amazing, and inspiring, and are one of the key reasons why I want to become a teacher in the first place regardless of their ethnicity. But if I had gotten a Nigerian woman as a teacher growing up, I would most definitely feel validated as a Nigerian-American girl. I wouldn't have been as worried about not fitting in with my peers who grew up with a much different cultural background. Maybe hearing her beautiful accent would have made me feel less embarrassed about mine. Maybe hearing of her experiences in her home country would have encouraged me to work harder to not let myself feel disconnected from my culture, or distance myself from it. To be able to look up to someone with the same skin, nose, kinky hair, or even their seemingly-hard-to-pronounce last name would have done wonders to my growth, self-esteem and identity. Even if I never actively thought about those things, subconsciously I know I would take notice of it, and it would touch me in many subliminal ways. The beauty in such a connection and attachment to this teacher could have had wondrous effects on the person I am now, and how confident I could have been in my own cultural identity. That is why I want to be the type of teacher I wish I could have had growing up, and become just like the current ones I do have that bring out the best in me. I want to be able to show my students that no matter who they are or where they came from, they are capable of anything they put their minds to.

Many people take teachers for granted. For me though, I cherish many of the teachers who inspired and influenced me throughout my academic career. There have been a lot of teachers in my life that have made a huge impact on the type of person that I am today. As a soft-spoken person, I always struggled to make my voice heard. But many of my teachers were quite understanding. They took the time to reach my heart, show me how to express myself, how to form my own voice, and how to self-advocate. They showed me that there is more than one way to make your voice heard. Even now, it's a constant effort to speak up. But often my teachers are there every step of the way, ready to support me as I work my way back up. Especially my art teachers. They noticed my creative potential, and urged me to tap into that creativity as a medium to express how I was really feeling inside. They helped me find ways to express my thoughts, feelings, emotions, and ambitions in ways that I otherwise would not have been able to put into words, with art. The past few years have been a lot on me and my family. It was very isolating, stressful, and mentally draining. Under an unpredictable and chaotic home life, my art teachers had been a haven. They truly listened to me as no one else had. I realized right then that their warmth, love and compassion were something precious, and that that feeling of being understood, accepted and valued was something I wanted other people to feel because of me. I want to help others, and I want to help them grow too. I want to do whatever I can to be the best teacher that I can be. To experience and learn and grow. Especially as a female teacher of color, I also want to keep focusing on encouraging students to appreciate and be proud of who they are and where they came from. To show them that they are strong, and capable and resilient, no matter if others try to tell them otherwise. When I become an art teacher, I know that my experiences will help me empathize with others and this will help me touch their hearts more. I know that I can share my experiences and personal struggles with them and even relate to their own struggles. In these ways I know that I'm capable of inspiring others, not just in words, but with my actions as well. Most of all, I want to give them that warmth and kindness that touched me and inspire them to want to help others. Thus, the cycle of love continues.

I have a deep passion for creating art and helping my community, which is why I'm always trying to be involved in every club/extracurricular dedicated to the arts that are available in my school. Those clubs have given me so much experience and have allowed me to help become a part of my community in numerous ways. I found a community to share and grow, not just in my artistic experience, but in my social experiences too. Not long after discovering my passion for making art, I realized that I could express myself through said art just as much. Colors became ink, my brush became my pen, the canvas was the world, and with it, I could paint one work that was worth pages of speech. That's something I really love about art making. You can use art to express things about yourself that you may struggle to put into words. You can use art to dig into who you are, and discover parts of yourself you may have never noticed before. Sometimes I could express what I was feeling through a doodle sooner than I would realize how I was actually feeling myself. Even when I couldn't bring myself to finish a piece, I felt comfort knowing I could always turn to art, even when everything else felt uncertain. But I don't just gain that through my own art. Looking at others' art is incredibly inspiring. Whether I have an art block, or I just want to pass the time, seeing how others are able to express themselves and other unique concepts is encouraging. Sometimes seeing how someone else interprets a concept and shares it can be validating, like putting an idea in a way that I struggle to convey myself. I feel seen, and looking up to other experienced artists helps me learn and grow as an artist. I may even be able to help others who are more inexperienced than myself, which is such a beautiful and empowering thing. And know that making art doesn't always need a deep purpose. Of course, I make art just for fun too! It's a comforting hobby, and I've found that being able to share my happiness with others spreads happiness to them as well. You could find me making art at any and all hours of the day, that's why I know that even if i had just an extra minute in the day I would no doubt spend it unwinding through art-making, let alone 24 extra hours! Being able to allow myself to make mistakes in art, and understand that my art can be just for me sometimes has helped me improve my artistic abilities as well. If not for art, I wouldn't be where I am now. In fact, I wouldn't even know who I was. Next to art, teaching is one of my greatest passions, and becoming an art teacher is my dream. I realize the impact that creating art has made on my life, and I want to help others come to that realization too. I want to push and encourage my future students to see the beauty of art, and how in a world where we can feel so powerless, so forgotten, and so lost, the power to create is like a beacon of light that we find within ourselves; That we can use to find and connect with others. This is how I want to help my community. Becoming an art teacher is my dream, and I know I can get there as long as I take it one step at a time.

As a kid, I never spoke much, but there was so much going on in my head. Sometimes it was to the point where it was incredibly overwhelming, how my emotions took over me. I often felt misunderstood, helpless and lost. Until I came to realize, not long after discovering my passion for making art, that I could express myself through said art just as much. Colors became ink, my brush became my pen, the canvas was the world, and with it, I could paint one work that was worth pages of speech. My art teachers were always patient with me, and helped me push myself artistically. I came to realize the power of art. Sometimes I could express what I was feeling through a doodle sooner than I would realize how I was actually feeling myself. My art teachers really helped me hone that skill, to experiment and push the limits of what I thought art was to me. Especially during the pandemic, when chaos filled my house, and destruction covered the world, during a time when I felt the most powerless, I realized I still had the power of creating. Even when I couldn't bring myself to finish a piece, I felt comfort in such a reliable medium that I could always turn to when everything else felt uncertain. Of course, I make art just for fun too! It's a comforting hobby, and I've found that being able to share my happiness with others spreads happiness to them as well. Being able to allow myself to make mistakes in art, and understand that my art can be just for me sometimes has helped me improve my artistic abilities as well. If not for art, I wouldn't be where I am now. In fact, I wouldn't even know who I was. Next to art, teaching is one of my greatest passions, and becoming an art teacher is my dream. I realize the impact that creating art has made on my life, and I want to help others come to that realization too. I want to push and encourage my future students to see the beauty of art, and how in a world where we can feel so powerless, so forgotten, and so lost, the power to create is like a beacon of light, that we find within ourselves; That we can use to find and connect with others. Art is a language many may know how to read, but so few know how to write.

Many people take teachers for granted. For me though, I cherish many of the teachers who inspired and influenced me throughout my academic career. There have been a lot of teachers in my life that have made a huge impact on the type of person that I am today. As a soft spoken person, I always struggled to make my voice heard. But many of my teachers were quite understanding. They took the time to reach my heart, show me how to express myself, how to form my own voice, and how to self-advocate. They showed me that there is more than one way to make your voice heard. Even now, it's a constant effort to speak up. But often my teachers are there every step of the way, ready to support me as I work my way back up. Especially my art teachers. They noticed my creative potential, and urged me to tap into that creativity as a medium to express how I was really feeling inside. They helped me find ways to express my thoughts, feelings, emotions, and ambitions in ways that I would otherwise had not been able to put into words. The past few years have been a lot on me and my family. It was very isolating, stressful, and mentally draining. Under an unpredictable and chaotic home life, my art teachers had been a haven. They truly listened to me as no one else had. I realized right then that their warmth, love and compassion were something precious, and that that feeling of being understood, accepted and valued was something I wanted other people to feel because of me. I want to help others, and I want to help them grow too. I want to do whatever I can to be the best teacher that I can be. To experience and learn and grow. Especially as a female teacher of color, I will keep focusing on encouraging students to appreciate and be proud of who they are and where they came from. To show them that they are strong, and capable and resilient, no matter if others try to tell them otherwise. I understand that most kids will not be interested in art, but that didn't stop my teachers from working to make their classrooms an enjoyable and welcoming environment, and that will not stop me from wanting to make an art class an enjoyable and safe place to be either. I want to help students try to understand that they have room for growth. Even if they are not good at art now, they don't have to be good at art to be able to use it in a way that will benefit them to dig deep into their heart or help touch others' hearts. Most of all, I want to give them that warmth and kindness that touched me and inspire them to want to help others. Thus, the cycle of love continues.

Many people take teachers for granted. For me though, I cherish many of the teachers who inspired and influenced me throughout my academic career. There have been a lot of teachers in my life that have made a huge impact on the type of person that I am today, especially my art teachers. They have helped me become more outspoken, be more confident in myself, and learn how to express myself through my art. That's not even the tip of the iceberg. I used to not enjoy school as much and even struggled, but thanks to those loving, kind, and understanding teachers, I always looked forward to their classes and always felt a sense of belonging. I could tell that they were passionate about art just like me, and they cared just as much about the importance of making art as the importance of helping their students understand how powerful the expression of art can be. I too am passionate about art, just as passionate as I am about teaching and helping others. The past few years have been a lot on me and my family. It was very isolating, stressful, and mentally draining. Under an unpredictable and chaotic home life, my art teachers had been a haven. They truly listened to me as no one else had. I realized right then that their warmth, love and compassion were something precious, and that that feeling of being understood, accepted and valued was something I wanted other people to feel because of me. This isn't my only motivation to teach though. Despite growing up in Baltimore, a city flowing with cultural diversity, a majority of my teachers weren't very diverse, with only two or three teachers at most being people of color. Of course, this wasn't the end of the world. But it made me realize how unfortunate the lack of diversity in the education field was. If I had gotten a Nigerian woman as a teacher growing up, I would most definitely feel validated as a Nigerian-American girl. I wouldn't have been as worried about not fitting in with my peers who grew up with a much different cultural background. Maybe hearing her beautiful accent would have made me feel less embarrassed about mine. Maybe hearing of her experiences in her home country would have encouraged me to work harder to not let myself feel disconnected from my culture, or distance myself from it. Even if I never actively thought those things, subconsciously I know I'd take notice of it, and touch me in many subliminal ways. I want to do whatever I can to be the best teacher that I can be. To experience and learn and grow. To be able to understand my fellow peers as well as my students. I want them to know that they are not alone. And know that just because I am the adult does not mean that I cannot- or will not- try to help them, understand them, or make them feel like they belong. Especially as a female teacher of color, I will keep focusing on encouraging students to appreciate and be proud of who they are and where they came from. To show them that they are strong, and capable and resilient, no matter if others try to tell them otherwise. Most of all, I want to give them that warmth and kindness that touched me and inspire them to want to help others. Thus, the cycle of love continues.

My goal when making art has always been to send some sort of message while being visually appealing. I make art with the hope that it makes people stop, stare, and think. As an artist I try to embed my interests and experiences into my art. I have a particular fascination with adding smaller details to my work. I add symbolism in order to convey a deeper meaning or tell multiple stories at once. I believe it becomes more engaging when you realize that the longer you look at my work, the bigger the picture seems to get. Your first interpretation of it may not be the only interpretation, and each time you look at it, the meaning seems to change. I want my art to broaden the minds of people who see it. This school year, my AP portfolio focused on identity, figuring out who you are, being connected to your culture. As an African American, and more specifically Nigerian American, I felt disconnected from by cultural identity for years. I felt too African to fit in with my American peers, but acted too American to fit in with my African relatives. That series of artworks focusing on the themes of cultural identity and cultural disconnect really helped me take the time to understand who I am, and to learn to accept all of the little parts of my identity. I also saw how sharing my art helped open a discussion with others who were also on a journey trying to figure out their identity, and seeing my art helped them take a step in the right direction to self love as well. That's something I really love about art making. You can use art to express things about yourself that you may struggle to put into words. You can use art to dig into who you are, and discover parts of yourself you may have never noticed before. I think that's beautiful. With all of this in mind however, I would have never come to this conclusion on my own. My art teachers were always patient with me, and helped me push myself artistically. Through them, I came to realize the real power of art. Sometimes I could express what I was feeling through a doodle sooner than I would realize how I was actually feeling myself. My teachers really helped me hone that skill, and helped me really want to experiment and push the limits of what I thought art was to me. After being touched by several of my own art teachers, I have been motivated and inspired to become an art teacher myself. To help children grow as people and learn how to express themselves through their art, as well as understand themselves and be willing to dig deep into who they are as people. Most of all, I want to give them that warmth and kindness that touched me, and inspire them to want to help others. This is why I think this scholarship would benefit someone like me, who enjoys using art as a medium to reach out to my community. Becoming an art teacher is my dream, and I know can get there as long as I take it one step at a time.

The dream version of me, confident in the woman she has become, is touched by the impact of her past teachers who supported and inspired her and is dedicated to sharing that warmth and kindness that touched her, in turn inspiring her own future students to discover themselves and want to help others as well.

My goal when making art has always been to send some sort of message while being visually appealing. I make art with the hope that it makes people stop, stare, and think. This school year, my AP portfolio focused on identity, figuring out who you are, being connected to your culture. As an African American, and more specifically Nigerian American, I felt disconnected from by cultural identity for years. I felt too African to fit in with my American peers, but acted too American to fit in with my African relatives. That series of artworks focusing on the theme of cultural identity really helped me take the time to understand who I am, and to learn to accept both- no, all parts of my identity. That's something I really love about art making. You can use art to express things about yourself that you may struggle to put into words. You can use art to dig into who you are, and discover parts of yourself you may have never noticed before. I think that's beautiful. With all of this in mind however, I would've never come to this conclusion on my own. My art teachers were always patient with me, and helped me push myself artistically. Through them, I came to realize the real power of art. Sometimes I could express what I was feeling through a doodle sooner than I would realize how I was actually feeling myself. My teachers really helped me hone that skill, and helped me really want to experiment and push the limits of what I thought art was to me. After being touched by several of my own art teachers, I have been motivated and inspired to become an art teacher myself. To help children grow as people and learn how to express themselves through their art, as well as understand themselves and be willing to dig deep into who they are as people. Most of all, I want to give them that warmth and kindness that touched me, and inspire them to want to help others. This is why I think this scholarship would benefit someone like me, who enjoys using art as a medium to reach out to my community; to help us discover and understand ourselves. Becoming an art teacher is my dream, and I know can get there as long as I take it one step at a time.

I have a passion for creating art and helping my community, which is why I am involved in almost every club/extracurricular dedicated to the arts that are available in my school. Those clubs have given me so much experience and have allowed me to help become a part of my community in different ways. One of these clubs is the Mural Art club, where our goal is to paint the walls, beautify our school, and promote positivity throughout the community. I have painted various murals along the walls of my high school and middle school, both independently and collaboratively with other students. Especially with the stressful pandemic and the isolating quarantine that we all have gotten through, the goal of our club is to uplift any student or teacher passing through the halls. One of my favorite independent murals is the sunflower painting I made in the art hallway of my school last year. The mural featured a painting of a beautiful black woman surrounded by a field of tall bright sunflowers. It was a very fun and ambitious project because of its size as well as the many time constraints I had making it on my last week of school before summer break. When creating this mural, one thing came to mind; sunflowers always turn towards the sun. This to me was a very encouraging and inspiring concept and pushed the message that no matter what is going on in one's life, looking for the positives will get you through. When you turn towards the sun, your shadows fall behind you. Painting this mural taught me a lot of things, and was a very insightful project. That is something I really love about art making. You can use art to express things about yourself that you may struggle to put into words. You can use art to dig into who you are and discover parts of yourself-- and even the world– that you may have never noticed before. I think that's beautiful. With all of this in mind however, I would have never come to this conclusion on my own. My art teachers were always patient with me, and helped me push myself artistically. Through them, I came to realize the real power of art. After being touched by several of my own art teachers, I have been motivated and inspired to become an art teacher myself. To help children grow as people and learn how to express themselves through their art, dig deep into who they are as people, and in turn, help others find themselves as well. This is why I think this scholarship would benefit someone like me, who enjoys using art as a medium to reach out to my community. Becoming an art teacher is my dream, and I know I can get there as long as I take it one step at a time. In the end, I had a lot of fun making this piece come to life. What I appreciated most was how supportive my school community was while I was painting. I got many compliments and words of affirmation from passing teachers, students, and even the lunch ladies and janitors would check on me from time to time! So in the process of trying to encourage others, I found myself being encouraged as well. It was beautiful to see how our community could work together to build one another up. I am happy to know that my work can bring joy to others, and that a part of me will stay within this school for many years to come.

For a long time, I have wanted to be a teacher. At first, I was not sure what objective to teach, but now I know I want to be an art teacher. Not just because I love art and creativity, but because I am inspired by my art teachers. Many people take teachers for granted. For me though, I cherish many of the teachers who inspired and influenced me throughout my academic career. There have been a lot of teachers in my life that have made a huge impact on the type of person that I am today, especially my art teachers. They have helped me become more outspoken, be more confident in myself, and learn how to express myself through my art. I could tell that they were passionate about art just like me, and they cared just as much about the importance of making art as the importance of helping their students understand how powerful the expression of art can be. I too am passionate about art, just as passionate as I am about teaching and helping others. The past few years have been a lot on me and my family. It was very isolating, stressful, and mentally draining. Under an unpredictable and chaotic home life, my art teachers had been a haven. They truly listened to me as no one else had. I realized right then that their warmth, love and compassion were something precious, and that that feeling of being understood, accepted and valued was something I wanted other people to feel because of me. This year, my final year of highschool, I had the privilege of being a part of a student-teaching internship. I have chosen to teach in an art classroom and the experience has been very eye-opening, as well as informative, truly giving me a condensed perspective of what it's like to be on the other side of the teacher's desk. I want to do whatever I can to be the best teacher that I can be. To experience and learn and grow. To be able to understand my fellow peers as well as my students. I want them to know that they are not alone. And know that just because I am the adult does not mean that I cannot- or will not- try to help them, understand them, or make them feel like they belong. Especially as a female teacher of color, I will keep focusing on encouraging students to appreciate and be proud of who they are and where they came from. To show them that they are strong, capable and resilient, no matter if others try to tell them otherwise. My teaching and interpersonal skills aren't the best, but my inexperience is only temporary. I know that by majoring in education and teaching art I will be able to gain the experience needed to become an effective teacher, not just by my courses, but also through my interactions with others who are just as passionate about art and teaching as I am.

I have a passion for creating art and helping my community, which is why I am involved in almost every club/extracurricular dedicated to the arts that are available in my school. Throughout the span of my high school career, I have joined NAHS, Digital Art Club, Mural Art Club, Sign language club, and Wind Ensemble, just to name a few. Each of them has allowed me to help become a part of my community in different ways. For example, in the mural art club, I have painted various murals along the walls of my high school and middle school, both independently and collaboratively with other students. Our goal is to beautify the school walls and promote positivity throughout campus. One of my favorite independent murals is the sunflower painting I made in the art hallway of my school. It was inspired by the idea that sunflowers always face the sun, and the quote saying that when you turn towards the sun, your shadows fall behind you. My goal when making art has always been to send some sort of message while being visually appealing. I make art with the hope that it makes people stop, stare, and think. This school year, my AP portfolio has been focused on identity, figuring out who you are, being connected to your culture. Two of the images attached here are my favorite examples of this. As an African American, and more specifically Nigerian American, I felt disconnected from by cultural identity for years. I felt too African to fit in with my American peers, but acted too American to fit in with my African relatives. The series of artworks focusing on this theme of cultural identity have really helped me take the time to understand who I am, and to learn to accept both- no, all parts of my identity. That's something I really love about art making. You can use art to express things about yourself that you may struggle to put into words. You can use art to dig into who you are, and discover parts of yourself you may have never noticed before. I think that's beautiful. With all of this in mind however, I would have never come to this conclusion on my own. My art teachers were always patient with me, and helped me push myself artistically. Through them, I came to realize the real power of art. Sometimes I could express what I was feeling through a doodle sooner than I would realize how I was actually feeling myself. My teachers really helped me hone that skill, and helped me really want to experiment and push the limits of what I thought art was to me. After being touched by several of my own art teachers, I have been motivated and inspired to become an art teacher myself. To help children grow as people and learn how to express themselves through their art, as well as understand themselves and be willing to dig deep into who they are as people. This is why I think this scholarship would benefit someone like me, who enjoys using art as a medium to reach out to my community. Becoming an art teacher is my dream, and I know can get there as long as I take it one step at a time.

I have a passion for creating art and helping my community, which is why I am involved in almost every club/extracurricular dedicated to the arts that are available in my school. Throughout the span of my high school career, I have joined NAHS, Digital Art Club, Mural Art Club, Sign language club, and Wind Ensemble, just to name a few. Each of them have allowed me to help become a part of my community in different ways. One key example was in NAHS (National Art Honors Society). In this club we work on a multitude of collaborative community-based projects. Just this November, we were able to participate in assisting in the Art Action Week event at Ridge Ruxton, a school for students with special needs and disabilities. There, we helped and played with the students and made a plethora of kinetic/interactive art in many ways. It was a great experience for everyone, and I was glad to be able to bond with a lot of the students there. I think that being able to have those experiences as a student to contribute to your community directly, and actively see how your actions benefit others is crucial. For me, these experiences continue to ignite the flame in me that nourishes my desire to do more for others. I live by the motive that when somebody inspires you, you have to pass it forward. And I've been inspired countless times by many people growing up, be it family, childhood friends, or even random strangers that I pass upon the street. But one of the most impactful people to inspire me consistently throughout the years have always been my teachers. The kindness and empathy those teachers have show me are what motivated me to want to become a teacher in the future. I want to help others, and I want to help them grow too. I want to be there for them, support them, listen to them when no one else will. To be able to do my best to help others, even when it's a bit outside of my own comfort zone. I understand that most kids will not be interested in art, but that will not stop me from wanting to make an art class an enjoyable place to be, and I want to help students try to understand that they have room for growth. Even if they are not good at art now, they don't have to be good at art to be able to use it in a way that will benefit them to dig deep into their heart or help touch others' hearts. Most of all, I want to give them that warmth and kindness that touched me and inspire them to want to help others.

I live by the motive that when somebody inspires you, you have to pass it forward. I've been inspired many times by many people growing up, whether it be family relatives, childhood friends, or even random strangers that I pass upon the street. But one of the most impactful people to inspire me consistently throughout the years have always been my teachers. As a soft spoken person, I always struggled to make my voice heard. A lot of more outspoken people would easily get impatient or annoyed with my unusual demeanor and this typically caused me to refrained from reaching out. But many of my teachers were quite understanding. Many of them took the time to reach my heart, show me how to express myself, how to form my own voice, and how to self-advocate. They showed me that there is more than one way to make your voice heard. Even now, it's a constant effort to speak up. But often my teachers are there every step of the way, ready to support me as I work my way back up. One of the first people that come to mind are some of my art teachers. They noticed my creative potential, and urged me to tap into that creativity as a medium to express how I was really feeling inside. They helped me find ways to express my thoughts, feelings, and emotions, and ambitions in ways that I would otherwise had not been able to put into words. The kindness and the evident empathy that those few teachers would show me or what motivated me to want to become a teacher in the future. I want to help others, and I want to help them grow too. I want to be there for them, support them, listen to them when no one else will. I do my best to help others, even when it's a bit outside of my own comfort zone. Often, I find soft spoken ones out in the world, and I see myself in them. I also realized just how much I've grown, and in turn realized that they are also capable of growth as well. When I become a teacher, I know that my experiences will help me empathize with others and this will help me touch their hearts more. I know that I can share my experiences impersonal struggles with them and even relate to their own struggles. In these ways I know that I'm capable of inspiring others, not just in words, but with my actions as well.

As an African-American, and more specifically a Nigerian American, my dream is to become an art teacher. I believe having role models that look like you is crucial to growing up. It gives a sense of belonging and pushes the impressionable children to know they are more capable than this harsh world wants them to think. Despite growing up in Baltimore, an area brimming with a surplus of African Americans, black, and people of color, I didn't have a lot of black teachers, let alone teachers who were of the same ethnicity as me. If I had a person of authority who looked like me and came from the same background as me, I would have felt like I fit in more and I could make deeper connections with them. The teachers I have now and have had in the past were amazing, and inspiring, and are one of the key reasons why I want to become a teacher in the first place regardless of their ethnicity. So, I cannot imagine how much more special it would be to see someone that I can share similar interests and have a similar home background with. I can imagine how beautiful such an experience would have been. Seeing a tall beautiful black woman with beautiful, thick hair filled with tight natural curls glide to the front of the classroom. I imagine the excitement rising in my heart as she opens her mouth, out flowing a calm but thick Nigerian accent, a soothing voice, one that reminds me of the way my mother and grandmother speak. I see her write her last name on the board, a beautiful name long and seemingly difficult to pronounce, just like mine. The beauty in such a connection and attachment to this teacher could have had wondrous effects on the person I am now, and how confident I could have been in my own cultural identity. I want to be the type of teacher I wish I could have had growing up, and become just like the current ones I do have that bring out the best in me. I want to be able to show my students that no matter who they are or where they came from, they are capable of anything they put their minds to.

Many people have dreams. And a lot of people know what is required to achieve that dream. My dream is to become an art teacher. And in my case, working on getting a BFA degree is the first step. Often, people wonder what the purpose of getting that expensive sheet of paper is. I say getting a degree is much more than just that piece of paper. It's all about the process of getting it. We have all heard the saying that reminds us to focus on the journey rather than the destination. It also holds quite a bit of weight in this context as well. Going to college for one's degree of interest allows you to experience a community of others pursuing the same field. In my case, other teachers with different motives and experiences with school that inspired them to take the course. Taking courses to become a teacher will also help me develop my interpersonal skills, and help me understand the importance of effective teaching. I don't learn these skills overnight. It also gives us a preview of all the parts of the job, so we know what we're getting into. This definitely gives us perspective on the job by showing both the good and the bad. I am currently involved in a student teaching internship in my senior year, and the experience has definitely helped me see what it's like to be in the other side of the teacher's desk. I've come to get an idea of what it's like and it's encouraged me to work harder to make this dream a reality. Most importantly: it may even help you realize that pursuing that career may not work out. Maybe it could help you realize that it just wasn't for you. You wouldn't be able to determine that alone. In the end, getting a degree is key to getting many jobs. If you had a dream, and you knew what you needed to do to get it, wouldn't you do everything in your power to achieve it? In a similar sense, I will do everything in my power to make it into college, pay the funds needed, and get the best grades I can so that I get that degree and finally reach the goal that I have been working towards for many years.

Many people take teachers for granted. For me though, I cherish many of the teachers to inspired and influenced me throughout my academic career. My most notable teachers have always been my art teachers. They pushed me to tap into my creativity more, and helped me to learn how to better express myself through art, and especially be the best person I could be. They are the ones who inspired me to want to be an art teacher in the future. But that isn't my only motivation to teach. You see, despite growing up in Baltimore, a city flowing with cultural diversity, a majority of my teachers weren't very diverse, with only two or three teachers at most being people of color. Of course, this wasn't the end of the world. But I made me realize how unfortunate the lack of diversity in the education field was. If I had gotten a Nigerian woman as a teacher growing up, I would most definitely feel validated as a Nigerian-American girl. I wouldn't have been as worried about not fitting in with my peers who grew up with a much different cultural background. Maybe hearing her beautiful accent would have made me feel less embarrassed about mine. Maybe hearing of her experiences in her home country would have encouraged me to work harder to not let myself feel disconnected from my culture, or distance myself from it. Even if I never actively thought those things, subconsciously I know I'd take notice of it, and touch me in many subliminal ways. Growing up, I did feel disconnected from my culture. I felt as though I didn't fit in with my Nigerian cousins, who grew up in Africa. But on the other hand, growing up in a Nigerian household, I didn't feel I fit in with my African-American or black peers either. I let myself drift away from both because I felt that I didn't fit in either. It wasn't until recently that I came to accept myself as who I was. I realized that I could appreciate both sides of my identity, without sacrificing one for the other. For me, it took almost 18 years to be able to come to this state of acceptance, and I'm still working on it. But I also know that not everyone has to come to accept themselves in the same way, in the same span of time I did. When I become a teacher I will keep focusing on encouraging students to appreciate and be proud of who they are and where they came from. To show them that they are strong, and capable and resilient, no matter if others try to tell them otherwise. I am going to become the role model I would have needed when I was my students' ages.

As an African-American, and more specifically a Nigerian American, my dream is to become an art teacher. I feel like having role models that look like you is very important and crucial to growing up. It gives a sense of belonging and pushes the impressionable children to know they are more capable than the harsh world wants them to think. Despite growing up in Baltimore, an area brimming with a surplus of African Americans, black, and people of color, I did not have a lot of black teachers, let alone teachers who were of the same ethnicity as me. I feel like if I had a person of authority who looked like me and came from the same background as me, I would feel like I fit in more and I could make deeper connections with them. The teachers I have now and have had in the past were amazing, and inspiring, and are one of the key reasons why I want to become a teacher in the first place regardless of their ethnicity. So, I cannot imagine how much more special it would be to see someone that I can share similar interests in and have a similar home background with. I can imagine how unsuspecting I would have been, waiting for my class to start not expecting anything out of the ordinary. Then, seeing a tall beautiful black woman with beautiful, thick hair filled with tight natural curls glide to the front of the classroom. I imagine the excitement rising in my heart as I see her open her mouth and hear a calm but thick Nigerian accent, a soothing voice, one that reminds me of the way my mother and grandmother speak. I see her write her last name on the board, a beautiful name long and seemingly difficult to pronounce, just like mine. The beauty in such a connection and attachment to this teacher could have had wondrous effects on the person I am now, and how confident I could have been in my own cultural identity. This is not all. Having a diverse group of teachers can also push students to be more inclusive and more educated on diverse cultures. I am excited to be able to teach students and make such an impact on them that the younger me would have loved to have. I want to be the type of teacher I wish I could have had growing up, and like the ones I do have that brought out the best in me. Winning a scholarship is not easy. There are a lot of people applying at the same time so the chances of me winning might seem small but I know that if I won the scholarship it would help me get a good start on my dreams. Even a small start is a good start.

As a kid, I never spoke much, but there was so much going on in my head. Sometimes it was to the point where it was incredibly overwhelming, how my emotions took over me. I often felt misunderstood, helpless and lost. Until I came to realize, not long after discovering my passion for making art, that I could express myself through said art just as much. Colors became ink, my brush became my pen, the canvas was the world, and with it, I could paint one work that was worth pages of speech. My art teachers were always patient with me, and helped me push myself artistically. I came to realize the power of art. Sometimes I could express what I was feeling through a doodle sooner than I would realize how I was actually feeling myself. My teachers really helped me hone that skill, and helped me really want to experiment and push the limits of what I thought art was to me. Especially during the pandemic, when chaos filled my house, and destruction covered the world, during a time when I felt the most powerless, I realized I still had the power of creating. Even when I couldn't bring myself to finish a piece, I felt comfort in such a reliable medium that I could always turn to when everything else felt uncertain. But when it comes to feeling powerful, I certainly don't just mean my own art. Looking at others' art is incredibly inspiring. Whether I have an art block, or I just want to pass the time, seeing how others are able to express themselves and other unique concepts is encouraging. Sometimes seeing how someone else interoperates a concept and shares it can be validating, like putting an idea in a way that I struggle to express myself. You feel seen, and looking up to other experienced artists helps you learn and grow as an artist. You may even be able to help others who are more inexperienced than you, which is a beautiful and empowering thing. And know that making art doesn't always need a deep purpose. Of course, I make art just for fun too! It's a comforting hobby, and being able to share my happiness with others, I've found, spreads happiness to them as well. Being able to allow myself to make mistakes in art, and understand that my art can be just for me sometimes has helped me improve my artistic abilities as well. If not for art, I wouldn't be where I am now. In fact, I wouldn't even know who I was. Next to art, teaching is one of my greatest passions, and becoming an art teacher is my dream. I realize the impact that creating art has made on my life, and I want to help others come to that realization too. I want to push and encourage my future students to see the beauty of art, and how in a world where we can feel so powerless, so forgotten, and so lost, the power to create is like a beacon of light, that we find within ourselves; That we can use to find and connect with others. Art is a language many may know how to read, but so few know how to write.

I have a passion for creating art and helping my community, which is why I am involved in almost every club/extracurricular dedicated to the arts that are available in my school. Throughout the span of my high school career, I have joined NAHS, Digital Art Club, Mural Art Club, Sign language club, and Wind Ensemble, just to name a few. Each of them has allowed me to help become a part of my community in different ways. In the mural art club, I have painted various murals along the walls of my high school and middle school, both independently and collaboratively with other students. Our goal is to beautify the school walls and promote positivity throughout campus. In NAHS (National Art Honors Society) we work on a multitude of collaborative community-based projects. Just this November, we were able to participate in assisting in the Art Action Week event at Ridge Ruxton, a school for students with special needs and disabilities. There, we helped and played with the students and made a plethora of kinetic/interactive art in many ways. It was a great experience for everyone and the event continues to be a success each year. I didn’t enjoy being at home. Drawing and art are already things that I enjoyed using as an escape, so I joined numerous art-related clubs. At first, they became a haven for me and allowed me to express myself, but I soon realized how it wasn't just helping me, but also fulfilling my desire to help others and contribute to my community. Wind ensemble was a multi-faceted experience where I didn't just learn how to play an instrument, but also how to work collaboratively with others, and helped me appreciate how each part, no matter how small worked together to create something beautiful, and would feel greatly lacking without even one part. And Sign Language club gave me a perspective on the ASL community that I had never seen before. In there we didn't just learn about the beautiful and innovative language, but also about the history, the culture, and the community of people who are deaf or hard of hearing. It helped us see people within the ASL community as more than just a concept- but as people. and from there, we spread awareness about the community with others to help them understand as well. At the start of high school, I was a shy person and socially inept. but only weeks after joining all of these clubs, I met so many people with passions and interests so similar to mine yet so unique and captivating at the same time. I learned and grew so much as well. Joining these groups finally gave me a voice to express myself, and I've seen how my contributions have been beneficial to my community, no matter how tiny.

For a long time, I have wanted to be a teacher. At first, I was not sure what objective to teach, but now I know I want to be an art teacher. Not just because I love art and creativity, but because I am inspired by my art teachers. There have been a lot of teachers in my life that have made a huge impact on the type of person that I am today, especially my art teachers. They have helped me become more outspoken, be more confident in myself, and learn how to express myself through my art. And that's not even the tip of the iceberg. I used to not enjoy school as much and even struggled, but thanks to those loving, kind, and understanding teachers, I always look forward to their classes and always felt a sense of belonging. I could tell that they were passionate about art just like me, and they cared just as much about the importance of making art as the importance of helping their students understand how powerful the expression of art can be. I too am passionate about art, just as passionate as I am about teaching and helping others. The past few years have been a lot on me and my family. It was very isolating, stressful, and mentally draining. Under an unpredictable and chaotic home life, my art teachers had been a haven. They truly listened to me as no one else had. I realized right then that their warmth, love and compassion were something precious, and that that feeling of being understood, accepted and valued was something I wanted other people to feel because of me. So, I decided to take the Teachers Academy of Maryland (TAM) magnet program at my school. The past four years of learning the intricacies of being a teacher- not just the positive thing, but also the stressful things as well. The rigorous course truly helped me deeply understand the pros and cons of being a teacher. It helped me appreciate how much teachers do and how undervalued they are most of the time. This year, my final year of highschool, I had the privilege of being a part of a student-teaching internship. I have chosen to teach in an art classroom and the experience has been very eye-opening, as well as informative, truly giving me a condensed perspective of what it's like to be on the other side of the teacher's desk. I want to do whatever I can to be the best teacher that I can be. To experience and learn and grow. To be able to understand my fellow peers as well as my students. I want them to know that they are not alone. And know that just because I am the adult does not mean that I cannot- or will not- try to help them, understand them, or make them feel like they belong. I understand that most kids will not be interested in art, but that will not stop me from wanting to make an art class an enjoyable place to be, and I want to help students try to understand that they have room for growth. Even if they are not good at art now, they don't have to be good at art to be able to use it in a way that will benefit them to dig deep into their heart or help touch others' hearts. Most of all, I want to give them that warmth and kindness that touched me and inspire them to want to help others. Thus, the cycle of love continues.

I am a high school senior at Parkville high. One of my biggest goals has always been to help others and inspire people, both with my character and artistic talents. After being touched by several of my own art teachers, I have been motivated and inspired to become an art teacher myself to help children grow as people and learn how to express themselves through their art, as well as understand themselves and be willing to dig deep into who they are as people. When I was in 7th grade, I had an art teacher who did everything he could to keep pushing me to be the best I could and do the best I could. He also helped me understand my limits and understand that there's always room to improve, and that the only way to improve is to be willing to accept that the place you are right now is not your peak. In 8th grade I had an art teacher that helped me understand the importance of having a community to support you, and to look towards others for inspiration and to improve by learning from others. My high school art teachers encouraged me and helped me grow and helped me to further hone my art skills. I view the art teacher that I have had for the past 3 years almost as a mother figure because of how much she cared for me and was willing to understand my struggles, connect with me on a personal level, and be patient with me and work with me. She made me feel seen and heard and pushed me to put those emotions into my art as well. By the time I reached 11th grade I had so many amazing influences in my life and in my community. I wanted to be just like them. To help others, to inspire others, to make them feel seen just like I had been. I like to think that I am a good teacher or that I will be a good teacher in the future, but of course I know that I do not have all the experience to say that. That is why I was so excited to join the Teachers Academy of Maryland magnet program and start my senior teaching internship at the start of my senior year. The experience I have gained here has been phenomenal and further ensured that this is what I want to do, teach! My mentor teacher, who turned out to be one of my previous art teachers, has been such an amazing help. Helping me learn all the tricks and turns of being a teacher. I know it is not easy and I know it will not get any easier, but the thought of seeing a sparkle in a student's eye, the smile on their face when they realize their potential, the warmth in my heart when I know that I have been able to help a student- not just their art skills but with their character and their part as a person in their community, well, I cannot help but think that the pros far outweigh the cons tremendously.

You never stop learning. from the moment you are born, so small and naive to the world, to the day you pass away, old and considered wise in years, you are always learning something. Always changing, always growing, always improving. You could be thousands of years old and there would still be something you don't know or understand to the full extent. I find learning to be important because if you don't learn you do not grow- not just that you do not grow, but you cannot grow. Experimenting helps expand our minds, and pushes us to analyze our surroundings and find efficient ways to improve ourselves. If we refuse to take in new information, we are unable to draw new conclusions, make new connections, and create new ideas. When we learn, whether it's from our own mistakes or from observing others, we are forced to reflect on how we are currently and who or what we want to be in the future. As a person who wants to pursue a career and education, I want to help move my students to understand the importance of being willing to make mistakes and learn from those mistakes, because that is how you grow as a person. that is how you improve as a person. And that process is naturally part of all of us as people. From infancy we observe, analyze, and adapt to our surroundings. Consequently, children are so impressionable and easy to influence. This is why it is my goal to be someone worthy of being influenced by. I make myself open to improvement so that I may be the best person I can be, and in turn, my students who see me as a role model and be inspired to be the best people they can be as well. The question is, though, how do you make yourself open to improvement? How do you allow yourself to keep learning? It's not easy, but you have to be humble, and understand your limits. The philosopher Socrates is believed to have once said, "the only true wisdom is knowing you know nothing". We are all lacking somewhere. No one is perfectly skilled, and there is always room for improvement in everything you do. Once we accept this, and acknowledge our limitations, we become wiser The saying "practice makes perfect" has been revealed to be inaccurate. In reality, humans are imperfect. Even the most skilled painter has room for improvement, and not every painting of theirs will turn out it's best. The painter must make a continuous effort to grow his skills, discovering new and more efficient techniques, and perhaps even changing their artistic approach altogether. Subsequently, then, the phrase "practice makes progress" would be more fitting. As you learn, you continue to progress no matter how long you've worked for. As you work on your skills, you continue to improve. And there is always room for improvement. I myself have to continue to work on my own humility, and be more aware of my limitations so as to allow myself to grow. Not just for myself, not just for my future students, but for every person I will ever come in contact with, every person I will inadvertently affect in my life.