Mental health has always been prevalent in my family. Some of my earliest memories were of my mother struggling with chronic depression as the oldest of three siblings this had a major impact on my childhood. My mother has always struggled with depression. However, I was born on September 21st, 2007, and my Uncle Joel, my mother's brother, committed suicide on August 20th, 2007, a month before my birth. Due to my birth so soon after his death and the birth of my siblings Liam and Amelia so shortly after mine, my mother never processed this loss until her depression took a turn for the worse after the loss of her father in 2011. It wasn't until middle school I started to struggle with the same symptoms of depression severely my mother had always struggled with. However, I always felt better in the gym. I competed on the Gymkhana gymnastics recreational team for several years as a child. Gymnastics was one of the best parts of my childhood. I love moving my body, learning new skills, and climbing the level ladder. The gym environment was always so warm, even on hard practice days. I had a great relationship with my coaches, who were always there for me I am eternally grateful for them and everything they gave me. In 2020, my gym shut down with the rest of the world, and that is when there was a major decline in my mental health and education. It was challenging for me to have no outlet to move my body, interact with others, or learn new things I was interested in. The isolation I was enduring from my family, friends, and coaches took a tremendous toll on my health, and I began to turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms during long periods of depression. When my gym reopened, I found it difficult to motivate myself to go back I had lost skills from lack of practice, and going back to school was so overwhelming for me; going back to the gym was hardly possible. However, in 2022, I went back to Gymkhana not as a student but as a coach and have been teaching gymnastics ever since. My coaches were so important to me growing up; they truly impacted my self-confidence and worth through the constant support I was given. So, I decided my new calling would be to go back and provide that same support and care for the new generation of gymnasts. Since working there, being back in the gym has given me opportunities to move my body, test out new skills, and regain old ones, and that has been incredibly important to my mental health and well-being. Thank you for your consideration, Mikayla Weber

I have had lifelong passion for theater. I started out in CAPA high schools acting program before I found being on stage was not for me and switched to CAPA's production technology department. There I have found what I believe to be my home within theater. I'm interested in this profession to fulfill my creative drive and learn new things about theater production. I think it is super interesting to learn about how different directors and designers work using techniques and personal skills to create things for a show. I plan to attend Point Park University's Conservatory program and obtain a B.F.A. In Production Design and Management. My career goals are to be able to work in some aspect of theater. I love working as a stage manager and being able to do creative things such as scenic painting or prop construction. It is a dream of mine to work in children's theater because I think it is so important as a storytelling agent and an escape for young people. I love to work with things such as puppets and I love to turn something mundane into something magical for a show. I am seeking to improve skills such as creating stage management paperwork; learning more about procedure in the theater; and expanding my knowledge of scenic design, painting techniques, and prop design and construction. These are my favorite aspects of theater production, and I am ready to learn new skills to make me successful in creating these aspects of a show. I believe fine arts such as theater are so important to the to communities everywhere. Dating back thousands of years, theater brings a safe and creative space where people from all over the world can work together to create something beautiful and tell a story. Theater is so important in the aspect it shares stories from different cultures providing a diverse education to all. One of my biggest dreams in life is make theater more accessible to everyone. Everyone deserves to have a chance to participate and experience stories told by all different people and to tell their own stories. Theater holds the power to start big conversations about social issues, provide emotional outlets, educate people, communicate with others. Which is why I am choosing to obtain my B.F.A in Production Design and Management, so out of college I can make a difference in the world using the arts. Thank you for your Consideration, Mikayla Weber

I have had lifelong passion for theater. I started out in CAPA high schools acting program before I found being on stage was not for me and switched to CAPA's production technology department. There I have found what I believe to be my home within theater. I'm interested in this profession to fulfill my creative drive and learn new things about theater production. I think it is super interesting to learn about how different directors and designers work using techniques and personal skills to create things for a show. I plan to attend Point Park University's Conservatory program and obtain a B.F.A. In Production Design and Management. My career goals are to be able to work in some aspect of theater. I love working as a stage manager and being able to do creative things such as scenic painting or prop construction. It is a dream of mine to work in children's theater because I think it is so important as a storytelling agent and an escape for young people. I love to work with things such as puppets and I love to turn something mundane into something magical for a show. I am seeking to improve skills such as creating stage management paperwork; learning more about procedure in the theater; and expanding my knowledge of scenic design, painting techniques, and prop design and construction. These are my favorite aspects of theater production, and I am ready to learn new skills to make me successful in creating these aspects of a show. I believe fine arts such as theater are so important to the to communities everywhere. Dating back thousands of years, theater brings a safe and creative space where people from all over the world can work together to create something beautiful and tell a story. Theater is so important in the aspect it shares stories from different cultures providing a diverse education to all. One of my biggest dreams in life is make theater more accessible to everyone. Everyone deserves to have a chance to participate and experience stories told by all different people and to tell their own stories. Theater holds the power to start big conversations about social issues, provide emotional outlets, educate people, communicate with others. Which is why I am choosing to obtain my B.F.A in Production Design and Management, so out of collage I can make a difference in the world using the arts. Thank you for your Consideration, Mikayla Weber

I have had lifelong passion for theater. I started out in CAPA high schools acting program before I found being on stage was not for me and switched to CAPA's production technology department. There I have found what I believe to be my home within theater. I'm interested in this profession to fulfill my creative drive and learn new things about theater production. I think it is super interesting to learn about how different directors and designers work using techniques and personal skills to create things for a show. I plan to attend Point Park University's Conservatory program and obtain a B.F.A. In Production Design and Management. My career goals are to be able to work in some aspect of theater. I love working as a stage manager and being able to do creative things such as scenic painting or prop construction. It is a dream of mine to work in children's theater because I think it is so important as a storytelling agent and an escape for young people. I love to work with things such as puppets and I love to turn something mundane into something magical for a show. I am seeking to improve skills such as creating stage management paperwork; learning more about procedure in the theater; and expanding my knowledge of scenic design, painting techniques, and prop design and construction. These are my favorite aspects of theater production, and I am ready to learn new skills to make me successful in creating these aspects of a show. I believe fine arts such as theater are so important to the to communities everywhere. Dating back thousands of years, theater brings a safe and creative space where people from all over the world can work together to create something beautiful and tell a story. Theater is so important in the aspect it shares stories from different cultures providing a diverse education to all. One of my biggest dreams in life is make theater more accessible to everyone. Everyone deserves to have a chance to participate and experience stories told by all different people and to tell their own stories. Theater holds the power to start big conversations about social issues, provide emotional outlets, educate people, communicate with others. Which is why I am choosing to obtain my B.F.A in Production Design and Management, so out of college I can make a difference in the world using the arts. Thank you for your Consideration, Mikayla Weber

I have had lifelong passion for theater. I started out in CAPA high schools acting program before I found being on stage was not for me and switched to CAPA's production technology department. There I have found what I believe to be my home within theater. I'm interested in this profession to fulfill my creative drive and learn new things about theater production. I think it is super interesting to learn about how different directors and designers work using techniques and personal skills to create things for a show. I plan to attend Point Park University's Conservatory program and obtain a B.F.A. In Production Design and Management. My career goals are to be able to work in some aspect of theater. I love working as a stage manager and being able to do creative things such as scenic painting or prop construction. It is a dream of mine to work in children's theater because I think it is so important as a storytelling agent and an escape for young people. I love to work with things such as puppets and I love to turn something mundane into something magical for a show. I am seeking to improve skills such as creating stage management paperwork; learning more about procedure in the theater; and expanding my knowledge of scenic design, painting techniques, and prop design and construction. These are my favorite aspects of theater production, and I am ready to learn new skills to make me successful in creating these aspects of a show. I believe fine arts such as theater are so important to the to communities everywhere. Dating back thousands of years, theater brings a safe and creative space where people from all over the world can work together to create something beautiful and tell a story. Theater is so important in the aspect it shares stories from different cultures providing a diverse education to all. One of my biggest dreams in life is make theater more accessible to everyone. Everyone deserves to have a chance to participate and experience stories told by all different people and to tell their own stories. Theater holds the power to start big conversations about social issues, provide emotional outlets, educate people, communicate with others. Which is why I am choosing to obtain my B.F.A in Production Design and Management, so out of collage I can make a difference in the world using the arts. Thank you for your Consideration, Mikayla Weber