I plan on getting into a career of stage lighting. I'm from Philadelphia and through my whole life my parents have really focused on getting my sister and me well acquainted with different aspects of culture such as the orchestra, ballet, and other theatrical performance. We would see Philadanco every year, we may see a musical every year, and my own uncle is a dancer in musicals. Not to mention our frequent visits to circus performances like Cirque De Sol Le on account of my mother. So it is no surprise that over the years I had grown very attracted the behind the scenes elements that make up the theatre. In middle school I joined the school's Stage Crew, operating the spot lights and house lights for many band and orchestra concerts and a musical performance of The Music Man (Junior). This interest continued into high school. I continued to do lighting for Stage Crew, technically and design wise now operating the entire light board house-stage-and even fog machines, working a total of 4 plays and 5 musicals over my four years, and a countless amount of other band, orchestra, and other vocal performances. I really wanted to learn and operate at a serious level. In my freshman year of high school, while only getting aquatinted with the light board, I volunteered when an opportunity was brought up by our Stage Crew manager of working lights for a performance of Sweeney Todd at a real playhouse. For a little under a month I worked wholly outside of school operating lights for the Steele River Playhouse in Pottstown Pennsylvania in tech rehearsals then two full house performances. This experience truly taught me a lot and set me up to move confidently operating lights for the rest of my time in high school. In Stage Crew I also learned about the maintenance of these lights as well, moving and replacing our stage lights and updating to newer equipment. Now that I'm in college studying at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, I've taken classes in other forms of creation with light learning different techniques and learning more about color theory and emotion even expanding into lighting for video. I really have a love for theater and pay a close attention to detail whenever I see a show on stage. In the future I do plan on pursuing lighting for stage, whether that be with the circus or with musicals. I'm excited to further my education with lighting techniques during my time in college.

Literacy has really always been an important aspect of my life. When I was in elementary school my parents went out of their way to make sure I could a better education in Philadelphia. They saved up a lot of their money to place myself and my sister into a Christian Private school. What I remember most from that school isn't actually the religious teachings but the way we would read and write. In my first grade class we would read through the entire series of The Magic Treehouse. This really set my sights on reading consistently and at high levels. I would read large chapter books through elementary on to high school and now. Now I refine my reading on some black literature classics like The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison and Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin. But picture books have always been equally important. Pictures books really have cracked open the creative side of my mind. My favorite picture book picture book is Not a Box by Antoinette Portis. I had many picture books as a child, keeping some favorites to this day. Many of these books were based off of bible stories and fables. What I appreciate most about picture books is their ability to teach while still holding so much whimsy and imagination with simplicity. Into middle school I began to draw everyday often crafting my own comics and drawn stories. I would take up entire sketchbooks with my own graphic novels. I even began to consider careers of freelance illustration for children's books after following artists on Youtube such as Anoosha Syed, a woman of color creating children's books of her own as well as creating artwork for other writers of color. I even created my own children's book in high school for a Physics final where I explained what Force is using my own pastel drawings of bunnies and simple explanations that I printed and bound. Though I no longer illustrate, after having experience from high school and now at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago writing my own stories and articles for publish, I've grown large interest in working in publishing. I've been following creators online that have jobs in publishing like Jananie on her Youtube channel ThisStoryAin'tOver, speaking about entrance to this industry with my writing professors, and now recently applying to Publishing internships so I may gain hands on experience. This scholarship will assist me in pursuing my dreams of working in publishing, to uplift black and brown writers and illustrators, by aiding me financially in working at internships that I acquire and writing classes that I may continue to take here in college. I'm extremely excited to see where work in this industry can take me and how I may have a hand at evolving the publishing space.

The first time I remember making was at the ages between 5 and 7. My older sister and I recorded funny short films and skits in full glam, makeup, wigs and all. We would write, record, and eat these videos, even casting our family members into the videos as well. This experience is truly what propelled me into pursuing video and stage. In middle school I joined the school's Stage Crew, operating lights for many band and orchestra concerts and musicals performances. This interest grew further into high school. I continued to do lighting for Stage Crew but also returned more formally to a video practice. So, while I spent my time working lighting, technically and design wise, for around 4 plays and 5 musicals, one musical of which was done voluntarily at a real playhouse, I also operated on the school's TV News group. I learned how to operate switcher and audio board for live broadcasting and how to use industry level camera equipment in and out of studio. Following that passion, I even furthered my education while in high school by splitting my time also attending a Technical Career school where I studied video media for 3 hours out of my school day for credit. However, with working so much with video and stage in more professional settings, I felt that I was unable to fully express creative new ideas. Though I felt accomplished even working a paid internship my senior year of high school working with video and photo for marketing, I wanted to get back to making for the sake of making. That's why I decided to apply to The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. I knew I would be able to grow creatively and also expand my use of medium. While creating my application, I took summer classes trying out Illustration, Animation, and Ceramics. And I put a ton of work and effort into creating a meaningful and artistic short film for my senior project at my career school. Now, being in my second year at the Art Institute of Chicago on track to graduate early, I'm excited at how my artistry has grown in medium and technique. Where I may have been limited to video and light before, now I expand to writing, photography, and sculpture constantly finding new ways to express my ideas. I'm extremely excited for what opportunities await for me especially as I consider spending some time abroad to learn more about Art History and find more inspiration for my projects. My art practice and inspirations have been a long time in the making and I know I am not done growing and changing yet.

The first time I remember making was at the ages between 5 and 7. My older sister and I recorded funny short films and skits in full glam, makeup, wigs and all. We would write, record, and eat these videos, even casting our family members into the videos as well. This experience is truly what propelled me into pursuing video and stage. In middle school I joined the school's Stage Crew, operating lights for many band and orchestra concerts and musicals performances. This interest grew further into high school. I continued to do lighting for Stage Crew but also returned more formally to a video practice. So, while I spent my time working lighting, technically and design wise, for around 4 plays and 5 musicals, one musical of which was done voluntarily at a real playhouse, I also operated on the school's TV News group. I learned how to operate switcher and audio board for live broadcasting and how to use industry level camera equipment in and out of studio. Following that passion, I even furthered my education while in high school by splitting my time also attending a Technical Career school where I studied video media for 3 hours out of my school day for credit. However, with working so much with video and stage in more professional settings, I felt that I was unable to fully express creative new ideas. Though I felt accomplished even working a paid internship my senior year of high school working with video and photo for marketing, I wanted to get back to making for the sake of making. That's why I decided to apply to The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. I knew I would be able to grow creatively and also expand my use of medium. While creating my application, I took summer classes trying out Illustration, Animation, and Ceramics. And I put a ton of work and effort into creating a meaningful and artistic short film for my senior project at my career school. Now, being in my second year at the Art Institute of Chicago on track to graduate early, I'm excited at how my artistry has grown in medium and technique. Where I may have been limited to video and light before, now I expand to writing, photography, and sculpture constantly finding new ways to express my ideas. I'm extremely excited for what opportunities await for me especially as I consider spending some time abroad to learn more about Art History and find more inspiration for my projects. My art practice and inspirations have been a long time in the making and I know I am not done growing and changing yet.

As a black student that often finds myself in white-dominated spaces, I find it extremely important to utilize my resources to bring together the black community on my campus and in my area and use my artwork in video and digital media to speak about the black experience. As I head into my sophomore year in college I am continuing my presence as a co-leader in the school's black student union. The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, which I attend, holds only a black population of about 4%. Though the number of us is small, our work, joy, and presence are still needed and valuable. Many black students at the school have voiced concerns of feeling like their artwork wasn't understood, non black students wouldn't provide useful critiques, there is not enough black staff, previous black spaces had been made into general POC spaces, and 'black' art events hosted by the school were lackluster and brief compared to other events held for the rest of the student body. This and other reasons are why I, along with other leaders, aim to run programming and events that uplift the black student body bringing about activity and positivity. We host all-black critiques, black events and dinners, and moving forward as we continue to grow, we'll be creating more time and space for black students to showcase their artwork publically and proudly, incorporate field trips to black museums, trips to other black art (and joyful) events in the Chicago area as well as seeking out community service opportunities to better aid the greater Chicago area. In the past, I have collaborated with a fellow black student at my high school during my senior year to found a black and brown student union. After bearing injustices and seeing the lack of representation and respect at my prodimentantly white school, I with my cofounder decided it was time to create an inclusive space for students of color to feel seen and heard. In just under two years of the club's existence, the group has kept public bulletin boards in the school, spearheaded the share of information during important months such as Black History Month, and has hosted fun events that harken to the various member's racial and ethnical identities. Through this endeavor, I know that I am capable of building a community and creating meaningful change in the spaces that I am in. I am passionate about our young black community and the art we create. I am even more excited to see how I can continue to strive for joy and justice of black people when I graduate and enter more of the world and workforce. We as young black people deserve the space and respect to live our lives with jovial spirits on our way to success and community.

The Shadow of the Lighthouse By Mya Jones I sit up, lie awake in the darkness. Toss and turn in sweat. Place my hands over my eyes and cry. I hear the sirens scream and wail. Beckon me to their wake. I pant, roll in a drenched shirt. I shake in my sheets. I beg, and ask why. They call for me in the night, Their screams grow strident, then, The rumble of the Lighthouse. The claims they make, the relief they speak of. I hold onto myself. Fall to my knees at the side of my bed, resorted to pray. To a God I don’t know. Then, what some call God speaking, contorts into the sonorous sounds of the sirens. Myself floods like the Lighthouse when it stormed. Everything I own is saturated, my books are soaked, ink spills into my space. The sirens claim they can save me. Dry me. I breathe heavily, holding back whimpers, Awaiting the day. When it comes, I go outside in the sun, shirt sticking and damp. I go to where the shadow of the Lighthouse was. I Look over the rocks for them. Nothing. No one. No sirens. No sailors, Just the gulls and the souls in them. I feel betrayed. What of everything they said? I want to be saved. I came in the day, where the shadow of the Lighthouse was, because it was scary in the night. No one is coming. I see the water on the rocks, I know the sea could swallow me whole. Day or night. Whether the sirens screech in the shadow or in the light. I heave deep breaths, go through my day, Then the sun sets, I watch on the rocks as the shadow grows, thinking of waiting for them. But I turn in as the gulls gawk at the sea breeze. Retract to my bed, shut my eyes, And give way to the Lighthouse’s night.