Personal Statement

I’m applying for the Woman in Animation scholarship to help pursue my dreams of helping others navigate their emotions through art. This scholarship would grant me the ability to put more time and effort into Animation Mentor and my leadership role with Women in Animation.

​

I’m the WIA Social Media Manager for the Animation Mentor chapter. I do this in addition to working and taking classes fulltime. I’m currently in class two and plan to start class three in January. My passion for the artistic world started long before I enrolled in Animation Mentor.

​

Throughout my life, I’ve found many ways to express myself through art. As a child I would grab printer paper, the nearest pencil, plop down on the couch and not look up for hours while I drew characters I conjured in my mind.

​

I also spent many years pushing my body to its limits as a dancer including time as a professional cheerleader. Using my body as expression of art was something I loved. How an instructor used music, movements of the body, and placement to tell a story and evoke emotions was magical to me.

I attended the University of New Haven to pursue a degree in Interior Design. Although, I learned a lot while exploring this path I realized it was not the route for me. I turned to jobs outside of the art world to get by. I found myself miserable and not feeling like myself so I began a graphic design certificate in my spare time to see if I could fill the hole growing inside me.

 

It was the pandemic that helped me rediscover my passion for art. A concussion forced me out of work and into a dark room. Looking at screens of any kind was not an option. Using paper and pencil to brainstorm for my graphic design lessons helped me through that difficult time. I started to conjure up different ideas and kept pushing further. This ignited my pursuit to learn how to make those graphics move.

​

The Pixar movie “Inside Out” holds a special place in my heart. The movie helped me see emotions and feelings as characters instead of ominous “things” that erupted within me that I could not control. Therapy and everyday life became easier for me. I started creating my own characters based on my own feelings.

​

My goal is to help others learn about emotional intelligence and how to navigate being a “good human” through telling animated stories. My hope is that the viewers who see these stories of emotional intelligence and start to notice a problem that was once a mountain can become an ant hill.

As an animator, I am confident I can use my previous experiences to build relatable and teachable scenes. Scenes that show female empowerment, healthy communication and representation for people of different backgrounds and cultures. I believe this grant will go a long way in helping me be a part of worldwide change.