Children are so insightful and inquisitive, bursting at the seams with potential. I currently work at a childcare center, where I'm constantly proven this true on a daily basis. There are few things more fulfilling to me than the experience of watching them discover the world around them and figure out their place in it- to help them discover WHO they want to be in this world. Becoming an art teacher is my dream because thanks to my own art teachers, I realized the impact creating has made on me, and I want to help others come to that realization too. I want to push my future students to see the beauty of art; how we can use it to connect with others in a world that can make us feel so powerless and disconnected. Often, when I'm struggling in college and I have doubts to continue, I ground myself by reminding myself of my "why", my reason for choosing to become a teacher. It's simple: When I look into the eyes of the children I work with, I see myself. I remember that feeling of trust and the haven comfort I felt with my teachers, and I want others to feel that way because of me. I also recognize that 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 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 definitely have felt validated as a Nigerian American girl. I might not 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’ve made me feel less embarrassed about mine. Maybe hearing of her experiences in her home country would’ve 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’ve done wonders for growing my self esteem and identity in many subliminal ways. That’s why I want to be the type of teacher I wish I could’ve had growing up. I know that my upbringing and economic background will be similar to my students, so I want to do everything I can to help them feel seen. 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. Even though my teaching and interpersonal skills are low, my inexperience is only temporary. I know that by majoring in Art Education I’ll gain the experience needed to become an effective educator, not just through my coursework, but also by interacting with others just as passionate about teaching as me. This scholarship will do wonders to facilitate my education- and especially for my low income, single-parent household- lighten the burden of common overbearing college finances, like transportation and art/course materials. That way, I can focus on what really matters. More importantly, this scholarship will help me become the teacher I aspire to be.

I have a passion for creating art and helping my community, which is why I'm involved in almost every Art club available in my school. Those clubs have given me so much experience and allowed me to help become a part of my community in different ways- Making friends and creating wholesome memories that will stick with me for a long time. One of these clubs has consistently been the Mural Art Club. I’ve painted various murals along the walls of my middle school and high school, both independently and collaboratively with other students, and I look forward to finding more opportunities in college. Our motive behind these murals were to beautify our school, promote positivity throughout the community, and uplift any student or teacher passing through the halls. One mural making memory that stuck with me was being invited back to my middle school by my former art teacher to help work on a mural with some of his Art Club students. It was a very fun and ambitious project because of its size as well as the many time constraints, but when I first got the invite, I wasn't sure what to expect. I was more nervous than anything because I wasn't used to working with students much younger than me. And I felt pressured to impress because my former teacher has always had high expectations of me. But when you're working collaboratively, age is a complete non issue. The students were eager to work with me and learn from me, but I happily learned a lot from them too. It was fun and nostalgic listening to them rant about school drama, and reminded me of the unique perspective of being a middle schooler. We collaborated ideas and worked through many artistic roadblocks together, and I admired how my teacher facilitated the project- guiding us but never telling us exactly what to do. Every conflict brought us closer together, and every constraint just pushed us harder to achieve our goal. Even when we had disagreements, rather than getting stuck on our differences, it helped highlight the appeal of having diverse interests and styles that mixed and meshed together to create a large mural that- in all its flaws and imperfections- perfectly encapsulated the creativity and diversity of my former middle school. Painting that mural taught me so much, and was a very insightful project. That’s something I love about art. You can use it to express things about yourself that you may struggle to put into words. Discover parts of yourself-- and even the world– that you never noticed before. That's so beautiful and empowering. My dream is to become an art teacher to help others see that beauty too. In the end, I had fun making that mural come to life with my new friends. In a whirlwind of nostalgia, paint stains and a chaotically diverse shared Spotify playlist, What I appreciated most was how supportive my school community was throughout the process. We received many compliments and words of affirmation from passing teachers, students, and even the lunch ladies and janitors would check on us occasionally! In the process of trying to encourage others, I found myself being encouraged too. It was beautiful to see how our community could work together to build one another up. I look forward to the many unifying murals I’ll get to make in the future. I’m happy to know that my work can bring joy to others, and that a part of me will stay within these buildings for many years to come.

Many often take teachers for granted. But for me, they have always been a beacon of inspiration and encouragement growing up. As a soft-spoken person, I always struggled to make my voice heard. But many of my teachers were quite understanding. They took time to reach my heart, and showed me how to form my own voice. Even now, it's a constant effort to speak up. But my teachers were there every step of the way, ready to support me as I worked my way back up. They are the ones who inspired me to want to become an art teacher. But that isn't my only motivation to teach. 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. This isn't an anecdotal experience either. Statistics show that Black women make up only 4.8% of all public schools teachers in America and only 16.96% of teachers in Maryland alone. 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 in a 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. 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. That is why as a black woman, I want to be the type of teacher I wish I could’ve 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. To be a teacher means to act In Loco Parentis: "In Place of Parent". It doesn't mean I suddenly become a full-time parent of 15+ children, but rather that when those children are under my care, it is my responsibility to guide them in the right way. Children are such inquisitive beings, bursting at the seams with potential. There are few things more fulfilling to me than the experience of watching them discover the world around them and figure out what they want to be–to help them discover WHO they want to be. And I know there are children out there like I was, little black girls struggling to have their voice heard, waiting to have someone on their side to support them and just say "I'm here for you". 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, capable and resilient, no matter if others try to tell them otherwise. Most of all, I want to inspire them to want to help others the same way my teachers inspired me.

Despite growing up in a Nigerian household, I never knew much about my own culture. Of course, it wasn't always that way. My mother spoke to me and my siblings in Igbo as infants, and we could understand her, so she says. But for some reason she eventually stopped, and I spent my formative years speaking solely English, completely deaf to my mother tongue. She claims we were never interested in learning, but I doubt a four-year-old could express a disinterest in speaking her first language. It could’ve been that living somewhere like America makes it easy to forget your culture. No one at my school spoke Igbo, why would I need to? Maybe it seemed easier to blend in with my community than embrace both sides, so now I stare blankly when relatives from a culture I don't know ask me how I’m doing in a language I never fully learned. Eventually, my mother gave up trying to instill her culture in me, and my Nigerian identity faded into the background. I grew up an "American teen", as my grandmother calls it. But I never felt truly American either. I was split between two parts of me while feeling neither at the same time. As if I was between two channels but getting no signal, only static. I never thought I'd feel any sort of connection. Fortunately, I’m an artist. And if there’s one thing artists can’t avoid doing, it’s finding ways to express themselves through their work. I noticed that whenever I began a painting, I found myself focusing my art on 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 perspectives, like two sides of the same coin. Making art really helped me think deeply about who I am and how I can represent myself to others through it. With that, I also saw how sharing my art opened a discussion with others also trying to figure out their identity, and how it helped them take a step in the right direction to self love as well. That's something I really love about creating art. You can use it to express things about yourself that you may struggle to put into words; to dig into who you are, and discover parts of yourself you never noticed before. Expressing my experiences through my paintings helps me better understand both myself and the world around me. I think that's such a beautiful and empowering thing. Creating art following themes of cultural identity and cultural disconnect really forced me to face my internal struggle head on, reflect on who I thought I was, and 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’d 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.

Many people take teachers for granted. But I deeply cherish the teachers who inspired and influenced me growing up. As a soft spoken person, I always struggled to make my voice heard. But those 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. They noticed my creative potential, and urged me to tap into that creativity as a medium to express how I was really feeling inside. 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. They helped me find ways to express my thoughts, feelings, and ambitions in ways that I otherwise couldn't put into words. My subjects are typically black people, specifically black women with a variety of skin tones and unique features. A lot of my art this year focused on identity, Black/African culture, and self love too. All the art that I've worked on this year really helped me think deeply about who I am and how I can represent myself within my work to others. Not only that, but I also saw how sharing my art opened a discussion with others also trying to figure out their identity, and how it 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. That's something I really love about art-making; You can use it to express things about yourself that you may struggle to put into words, to dig into who you are, and discover parts of yourself you never noticed before. Expressing my experiences through my paintings helps me better understand both myself and the world around me. I think that's such a beautiful and empowering thing. Next to art, teaching is one of my greatest passions, and becoming an art teacher is my dream. I realize the impact that creating has made on me, and I want to help others come to that realization too. I want to push my future students to see the beauty of art; how in a world where we can feel so powerless 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. I also recognize that 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. That is why as a black woman, 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. 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.

I can't think of a single age group that loves as unconditionally as a child does. I currently work at a childcare center, where I'm constantly proven this true on a daily basis. The children I work with are so insightful, inquisitive. I love watching them figure out the world for the first time, and discover their place in it. I admire my students so much. Me on the other hand, I couldn't imagine that I could have such a deep impact on these kids. I really just facilitate their learning. I support them halfway, and they love me the full way back. I wish I knew what made them think I was so special, to look up to me so dearly. There are two children in particular that look up to me a lot, Daniel (10) and David (6). They lived across the street from me from my old neighborhood and I see them when their grandma brings them to church with her. I used to babysit them with a friend and sit on their Bible studies sometimes. I had fun, but I knew I wasn't much more than a face and a name to them. Until one day I came over after Bible study and I spent the afternoon drawing with them. It was something we just connected on. I loved to draw, and I suppose my passion inadvertently encouraged them to enjoy it too. They wanted to get better, and they wanted ME to teach them. Every time I ran into their grandmother she would go on about how they constantly asked "when Mercy was coming back to draw with us?" Ever since I started college, I haven't had time to see them in person for some time. My friend (their neighbor) would constantly send videos and pictures of silly mundane things, them rapping a song they came up with, a drawing they made, a random photo. It could be the most random photo and they would beg my friend to send it to me so I can see. They would send voice memos of questions they had about all sorts of things, and bemused, I would send a voice memo answering back. There was a day where I had originally planned to go visit them, but had to cancel last minute because of a personal issue. I didn't think anything of it at first because I know that they have plenty of other friends they play with and spend time doing all sorts of things with. When I finally got to see them again, little David ran up to me and clutched me tightly, as if he was scared that once he let go, I would disappear. After a few moments, he grabbed my hand and led me to go sit next to him to draw some more, as if it were any other day. Often when I'm struggling in college, and I have doubts to continue, I ground myself by reminding myself of my "why", my reason for choosing my career path of becoming a teacher. When I looked into little David's eyes, I saw myself. I remembered that feeling of trust and haven comfort I felt with my teachers, and how I want others to feel that way because of me. Many often take teachers for granted. But they have always been a beacon of inspiration and encouragement for me growing up. Especially my art teachers. As a soft-spoken person, I always struggled to make my voice heard. But many of my teachers were quite understanding. They took time to reach my heart, and showed me how to express myself through art, form my own voice, and how to self-advocate. They showed me that there's more than one way to make your voice heard. Even now, it's a constant effort to speak up. But my art teachers were there every step of the way, ready to support me as I worked my way back up. They are the ones who inspired me to want to become an art teacher. But that isn't my only motivation to teach. 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 would not have been as worried about not fitting in with my peers who grew up in a 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. Even if I never actively thought those things, subconsciously I'd take notice of it, it would and touch me in many subliminal ways. To be a teacher means to act In Loco Parentis: "In Place of Parent". It doesn't mean I suddenly become a full-time parent of 15+ children, but rather that when those children are under my care, it is my responsibility to guide them in the right way. Children are such inquisitive beings, bursting at the seams with potential. There are few things more fulfilling to me than the experience of watching them discover the world around them and figure out what they want to be-- to help them discover WHO they want to be. And I know there are children out there like I was, struggling to have their voice heard, waiting to have someone on their side to support them and just say "I'm here for you". It's more than just monitoring them in place of their parents, it is showing them I'm on their team, a mentor they can look up to. When I become a teacher, I will do whatever I can to be the best I can be. To experience, learn, and grow. I want my students to know that they are not alone, and that just because I'm the Adult doesn't 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. 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 often take teachers for granted. But for me, they have always been a beacon of inspiration and encouragement growing up. Especially my art teachers. As a soft-spoken person, I always struggled to make my voice heard. But many of my teachers were quite understanding. They took time to reach my heart, and showed me how to express myself through art, form my own voice, and how to self-advocate. They showed me that there's more than one way to make your voice heard. Even now, it's a constant effort to speak up. But my art teachers were there every step of the way, ready to support me as I worked my way back up. They are the ones who inspired me to want to become an art teacher. But that isn't my only motivation to teach. 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 would not have been as worried about not fitting in with my peers who grew up in a 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. Even if I never actively thought those things, subconsciously I'd take notice of it, it would and touch me in many subliminal ways. To be a teacher means to act In Loco Parentis: "In Place of Parent". It doesn't mean I suddenly become a full-time parent of 15+ children, but rather that when those children are under my care, it is my responsibility to guide them in the right way. Children are such inquisitive beings, bursting at the seams with potential. There are few things more fulfilling to me than the experience of watching them discover the world around them and figure out what they want to be-- to help them discover WHO they want to be. And I know there are children out there like I was, struggling to have their voice heard, waiting to have someone on their side to support them and just say "I'm here for you". It's more than just monitoring them in place of their parents, it is showing them I'm on their team, a mentor they can look up to. When I become a teacher, I will do whatever I can to be the best I can be. To experience, learn, and grow. To understand my peers as well as my students. I want them to know that they are not alone, and that just because I'm the adult doesn't 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. 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, 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.

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 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.

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.