I am an undergrad student at the University of Memphis in Tennessee. I am currently a Junior and changed majors two semesters ago to a bachelor's in Fine Arts with a concentration in Graphic Design. I have thrived in this new major however, I have had a difficult time securing financial aid to cover my tuition. I am a part-time student right now due to having to work but would love to be able to devote myself full time. Last semester I had a sculpture class. It was amazing to see my creations come to life in three dimensions. I modeled a life-size sculpture of my cat using cardboard, glue, and paint. It is my absolute favorite work. I spent almost 3 weeks between work and classes designing, sizing, and putting together this piece. I call it "Peanut Butter the Second"; which is my cat's name. Manipulating the cardboard was the second-most difficult part of the project, aside from measuring my cat. I had to take pieces of cardboard and create a skeleton. Then I added layers of cardboard scraps soaked in a mix of glue and water. It was similar to paper mache. I was inspired to do this project because my cats are like my children. Peanut butter is about 3 years old now. He was extremely small when he joined my family. I believe he was bout 3 or 4 weeks old. At one point, he had gotten very sick and we were worried about his health. We found out later that he has asthma. Asthma only affects a small percentage of cats and tends to show symptoms when the cat is around 2 years old. Working on it helped me stay calm and navigate through learning how to deal with his asthma. .

I am an undergrad student at the University of Memphis in Tennessee. I am currently a Junior and changed majors two semesters ago to a bachelor's in Fine Arts with a concentration in Graphic Design. I have thrived in this new major however, I have had a difficult time securing financial aid to cover my tuition. I am a part-time student right now due to having to work but would love to be able to devote myself full time. Financial aid would be able to lessen my financial burden and allow me to do this. Last semester I had a sculpture class. It was amazing to see my creations come to life in three dimensions. I modeled a life-size sculpture of my cat using cardboard, glue, and paint. It is my absolute favorite work. I spent almost 3 weeks between work and classes designing, sizing, and putting together this piece. I call it "Peanut Butter the Second"; which is the name of my cat. Manipulating the cardboard was the second-most difficult part of the project, aside from measuring my cat. I had to take pieces of cardboard and create a skeleton. Then I added layers of cardboard scraps soaked in a mix of glue and water. It was similar to paper mache. It took a long time to dry. The painting was the easiest part. I was inspired to do this project because my cats are like my children. Peanut butter is about 3 years old now. He was extremely small when he joined my family. I believe he was bout 3 or 4 weeks old. He was found in one of my friend's homes, in the wall, crawling around in the insulation. He went from the tiniest ball of fur to a 12-pound ball of energy. At one point, he had gotten very sick and we were worried about his health. We found out later that he has asthma. Asthma only affects a small percentage of cats and tends to show symptoms when the cat is around 2 years old. The thought of losing him drove me to create this piece. Working on it helped me stay calm and navigate through learning how to deal with his asthma. This scholarship would allow me to continue developing my abilities and interests in art. I would love to be able to continue my journey through the art world and eventually become a great designer. I love seeing my designs coming to life as "Peanut Butter the Second" did. He now has a permanent home in my living room. Thank you for your time and I hope you will have a great day.