A future Regina is one who is successful and content, ardently teaching students of all demographics in a classroom that enables artistic freedom, helping students see the beauty of creation within a healthy environment of originality and inclusivity that she manifested independently.

Yes, during the ages of 7-10 I was in the foster care system. I was taken away from my mother at the age of 7 and reunited with her at 10. Several years after my placement into foster care, specifically in my sophomore year of high school, I had endured severe trauma, resulting in me losing motivation for my education. I no longer enjoyed several passions I had loved before, and I resented the feelings I was experiencing. Having to deal with traumatic flashbacks and consistent reminders conjured feelings of heavy depression and anxiety. These strong emotions led to me attempting suicide in both my sophomore and junior years of highschool. After about a week into my second stay, I was gifted art supplies by an incredibly kind nurse, and I found happiness through art. I hadn’t felt mentally strengthened in so long, and realized I wasn’t the only one in this state. After wanting to do something meaningful, I decided to bring color to a place that lacked thereof. With the assistance of nurses, we gathered 9 other patients who I could share my materials with, and we made art together. I taught them to make origami which hung from the ceiling, spiderweb cutouts for the windows, and drawings. Seeing the glow in their eyes when they realized that they were capable of making something on their own is a memory I will never forget. I felt alleviated once I saw that I was able to help kids see positivity through creation. Tranquility settled through me, and for a few fleeting moments, I forgot the environment I was in. I vividly remember leaving, looking up at the tall windows from across the street and seeing one, lone window covered in spiderwebs and drawings. I felt like I made a real life change, minuscule or not. Regardless of its importance to the outside world, I knew I made a positive impact on the patients I created with. I realized then that by becoming an Art Teacher, I would be able to continue doing what I love while showing others success in themselves, helping students feel positive through creativity and inclusivity. This is where my future as an Art Teacher became an incipient beauty. I know that art can be a healthy outlet for students if they’re given the artistic space to make new things through their own means. This freedom is often restricted in academic classrooms, as subjects including math and english have set rules for what is “right” and “wrong”. The beautiful world of art is far from this black and white filter, and I aspire to show teens the beauty in a classroom with originality. Art is something many children doubt themselves in, and by providing a healthy learning environment, I would be able to help kids accomplish the level of potential that they’ve always been capable of. New things can be made with those of old, causing up and rising artists to fall in love with a hobby. To be an enabler of such an awe-inspiring process would be a way for me to help teens in ways beyond what shows on the surface. Teaching is something that I can see myself doing until retirement, as my educators growing up were people who have helped me emotionally and physically through my struggles of mental health. I want to be able to provide this helping hand to teens, as many students haven’t had someone offering them the level of support they need. Kids deserve to be heard, and I aim to help students feel like they belong.

In the same place that I thought my life would come to an end, it truly began. It's unexpected, finding the beauty of life while enclosed within walls that were nothing but white, yearning for any modicum of color. It was here that I started to miss things that I’d grown so used to having. I missed simple things, such as paper. I coveted the feeling of the paper’s edges as I’d make origami, seeing the animals come to life. I longed for the undulate sounds of my pencil as I’d draw on a desk. These feelings became so vivid that I spoke to my nurses about it, detailing everything I was visualizing. After about a week into my stay, I was gifted art supplies by an incredibly kind nurse, and I found happiness through art. I hadn’t felt mentally strengthened in so long, and realized I wasn’t the only one in this state. After wanting to do something meaningful, I decided to bring color to a place that lacked thereof. With the assistance of nurses, we gathered 9 other patients who I could share my materials with, and we made art together. I taught them to make origami which hung from the ceiling, spiderweb cutouts for the windows, and drawings. Seeing the glow in their eyes when they realized that they were capable of making something on their own is a memory I will never forget. I felt alleviated once I saw that I was able to help kids see positivity through creation. Tranquility settled through me, and for a few fleeting moments, I forgot the environment I was in. I vividly remember leaving, looking up at the tall windows from across the street and seeing one, lone window covered in spiderwebs and drawings. I felt like I made a real life change, minuscule or not. Regardless of its importance to the outside world, I knew I made a positive impact on the patients I created with. I realized then that by becoming an Art Teacher, I would be able to continue doing what I love while showing others success in themselves, helping students feel positive through creativity and inclusivity. This is where my future as an Art Teacher became an incipient beauty. Teaching is something that I can see myself doing until retirement, as my educators growing up were people who have helped me emotionally and physically through my struggles of mental health. I want to be able to provide this helping hand to teens, as many students haven’t had someone offering them the level of support they need. Art is something many children doubt themselves in, and by providing a healthy learning environment, I would be able to help kids accomplish the level of potential that they’ve always been capable of. Teens and children deserve to feel heard, especially when many of their struggles go unseen. I know that art can be a healthy outlet for students if they’re given the artistic space to make new things through their own means. This freedom is often restricted in academic classrooms, as subjects including math and english have set rules for what is “right” and “wrong”. The beautiful world of art is far from this black and white filter, and I aspire to show teens the beauty in a classroom with originality. New things can be made with those of old, causing up and rising artists to fall in love with a hobby. To be an enabler of such an awe-inspiring process would be a way for me to help children in more ways than I could ever imagine.

I have a strong passion for helping others, with an equally as powerful love for the arts. I’ve always planned to become an Art Teacher, as I want to help highschool students realize the creativity that they possess, as well as the positive emotions and impacts that their artwork can have. Receiving this scholarship, would help my family incredibly, as we are unable to afford college through any other means aside from working and offers like these. Coming from a low income family, my mother is a single woman with three kids who has provided so much to my family and I on her own, being an inspiration to me for her hard work. When we originally traveled to the United States together from Cuernavaca, Mexico, she took advantage of the availability of work. After she became pregnant with her second child, my mom went from one full time job to three part time jobs, as she was the only one who was providing for us. After 8 years of schooling and hard work, she earned her real estate license as an immigrant, the first at her firm to do so. Seeing as we are undocumented, despite applying for citizenship 10 years ago, we bear no SSN, nor any federal resources that citizens are eligible for, including federal aid for higher education and several helpful resources, like loans and grants. Because of this, she believes that she bears full responsibility in helping me afford my bachelors degree in Art Education, after she realized just how hard it is for me to receive financial help due to my lack of an SSN. Despite this, I am truly passionate about helping students flourish, and after seeing how hard my mother has worked to make my life easier, I want to alleviate the financial burden, aspiring to do an equivalent amount of hard work as she did. Growing up, making art was a healthy outlet for my emotions, and I know that it can be one for students if they’re giving the artistic freedom to make new things. This freedom is often restricted in academic classrooms, as subjects such as math and english have set rules for what is “right” and “wrong”. The beautiful world of art is far from this black and white filter, and I aspire to show teens the beauty in a classroom with originality. New things can be made with those of old, causing up and rising artists to fall in love with a hobby. To be an enabler of such an awe-inspiring process would be a way for me to expiate for all the years I failed to embrace my imagination. Teaching is something that I can see myself doing until retirement, as my educators growing up were people who have helped me emotionally and physically through my struggles of mental health. I want to be able to provide this helping hand to other children, as many students haven’t had someone offer them the level of support that they need. Art is something many children doubt themselves in, and by providing a healthy learning environment, I would be able to help kids accomplish the level of potential that they’ve always been capable of. Teens and children deserve to feel inspired, especially when some of their struggles go unseen. Being able to receive this scholarship would mean that I would be able to pursue my dreams of becoming a teacher, as well as make things even the slightest bit easier for my mother, and that’s genuinely so much more than I could ever ask for.