The best personal financial advice I received was getting a credit card and knowing how to build good credit. When I was attending my college's freshmen orientation, there was a presentation about considering getting a credit card. After learning about credit cards, I knew I had to get one to have a successful future after college. It's good to find the first credit card that won't charge you right away in fees and preferably a credit card made for people or college students who are beginners with owning a credit card. When shopping with your credit card, it's better to use it on something you buy and frequently use that is easy to pay off. For example, use your credit card for only buying gas or a repeating subscription bill. You never want to miss paying your credit card bill, or you will be charged interest, which will increase the amount of money you owe and decrease your credit score, which you need to buy almost anything in the future. When you have a high credit score, you'll have more access to buying and loaning different items like being able to lease a new car, buy a house, be able to apply for large loans, and much more. Establishing your credit at an early age will significantly help you in the future when making more significant purchases. Even after four years of establishing my credit, I had a high credit score at a young age and was able to lease my first vehicle in my name. Thanks to that presentation about how credit cards work and establishing credit, I can have multiple items in my name.

The drive for my passion for art is being able to put meaning or message and a system behind what I create. I have always preferred making art that delivers a message while having a constructive system that connects elements, thus creating a statement. When people look at my work, I always want people to recognize what I'm trying to communicate. I love to talk about elements of artwork I have made to people, and they are fascinated by how I pay attention to details in a piece. They liked how I aspire to make someone feel and think a specific way by looking at my work. Especially from learning and working to becoming a graphic designer, I believe that any design work I make must have a structure to communicate meaning. Through this drive and skills, I have applied a system to school design projects and work through my internships and a part-time job as a graphic designer. Although I know for my young age, I still have more to learn as a design student to create compelling designs. I want to achieve my dream job as an art director who has complete creative control over how an organization communicates its message through design. This scholarship would help me pursue my passion and further push my drive and skills. I want to continue attending university full-time while achieving my academic and career goals. I considerably wish to expand my knowledge and skills in college to benefit my career goals as a graphic designer and art director in the future. There are a vast amount of skills for a graphic designer to learn to be successful. It's said that graphic designers are the jack of all trades, and I desire to be just like that. I want to improve my portfolio and get a full-time job working in the design field. In the end, I want to become a graphic designer for a well-known company and potentially become their art director with complete creative control of how the company presents itself and makes other people feel. I desperately need the assistance, but with this scholarship, I would be able to remain in college to finish my degree in graphic design and find a full-time graphic design job. This scholarship would lift a large amount of financial stress from my shoulders, and I can significantly focus on improving my skills as a graphic design student. Aid from this scholarship would be greatly appreciated and help me considerably continue my education.

I want to live in a rural area that's not too far from a city, in a house with enough room to house my mom, brother, and two cats. I want a yard with room to fit a garden and chicken coop and a garage to house two cars, one for me and my mom. I have my own business, a graphic design shop dedicated to assisting non-profit organizations in expanding their brand. I would also be an art director for a large company, which would be in the city that I would live near. I would want my mom to be completely retired and dedicate her life to her favorite hobbies; taking care of animals and plants. I would want my brother to have a career in playing video games, streaming his gameplay, and completing in competitions, specifically in fight games like Street Fighter and Tekken. I'd support my mom and brother completely through what I earn with my job and business; I wouldn't let them worry about anything financially and let them live how they want with my full support. While with my dream job and business, I would want to continue my hobby of playing video games. Like what my brother would do, I would stream my favorite games like Minecraft and The Sims. I would also like to garden full of fresh vegetables and flowers and have a chicken coop with the most friendly hens. I would have my cat Abbie and give her a cat friend to play with. This would be my dream life that I desire to make a reality in my future.

My favorite piece of art was one I created titled "Cooper's Scars" It was a photograph with ink writing of my brother's chest showing his scars from previous surgeries. It's my favorite piece because of the process of relearning and learning more about my brother. Through this piece, I communicated my brother's story and what he has been through since his birth. I was always involved with my brother's health and attended almost all his surgeries, doctor appointments, pacemaker checkups, and heart/pulse scans. Yet, regardless of his health throughout life, my brother has always been strong with a positive attitude. I hope this piece reflects and impacts others, that viewers admire my brother's strength, bravery, and positive attitude while being a man who has been through so much. My brother deserves to have his story shared and told to the world. Although this piece was initially an assignment for a studio concept class, I hope this piece can one day become someone else's favorite.

My number one hobby is playing video games. I love playing video games. It's been my favorite hobby since I was a kid, and I grew up playing on various consoles either at a friend's house or at an arcade. The first console I had was a PlayStation 2, and I loved to play Guitar Hero 2 & 3 and Tekken 4. One reason I loved playing video games the most was playing with other people. It was the most fantastic way to bond with my family and friends. I remember going to my cousin's house to play Sims 2 on her computer. We would spend hours playing while sharing a big bowl of ramen noodles. When I got an Xbox360 on Christmas day, I spent time playing Minecraft with friends while chatting through Xbox Live with my first fancy headset. Another reason I loved playing video games because it gave me more opportunities to be creative. I remember building a Mother's Day show in Minecraft for my mom that she loved, along with many more creations like mansions, castles, and farms. There were times I would play Little Big Planet with my cousin where we created our own levels and made costumes and items published for other players to enjoy and explore. These kinds of video games that allowed creative freedom greatly influenced and inspired me to follow the career path of becoming an artist, specifically a graphic designer. This hobby also helped me socialize and find other people who loved playing similar games as me. While having the hobby of playing video games, there's a wide variety of genres to either try something new or stick to a favorite close to home. Today my favorite video games to play are The Sims 3, Stardew Valley, and my forever favorite, Minecraft.

The best personal financial advice I received was getting a credit card and knowing how to build good credit. When I was attending my college's freshmen orientation, there was a presentation about considering getting a credit card. After learning about credit cards, I knew I had to get one to have a successful future after college. It's good to find the first credit card that won't charge you right away in fees and preferably a credit card made for people or college students who are beginners with owning a credit card. When shopping with your credit card, it's better to use it on something you buy and frequently use that is easy to pay off. For example, use your credit card for only buying gas or a repeating subscription bill. You never want to miss paying your credit card bill, or you will be charged interest, which will increase the amount of money you owe and decrease your credit score, which you need to buy almost anything in the future. When you have a high credit score, you'll have more access to buying and loaning different items like being able to lease a new car, buy a house, be able to apply for large loans, and much more. Establishing your credit at an early age will significantly help you in the future when making more significant purchases. Even after four years of establishing my credit, I had a high credit score at a young age and was able to lease my first vehicle in my name. Thanks to that presentation about how credit cards work and establishing credit, I can have multiple items in my name.

The best financial advice I received was getting a credit card and knowing how to build good credit. When I was attending my college's freshmen orientation, there was a presentation about considering getting a credit card. After learning about credit cards, I knew I had to get one to have a successful future after college. It's good to find the first credit card that won't charge you right away in fees and preferably a credit card made for people or college students who are beginners with owning a credit card. When shopping with your credit card, it's better to use it on something you buy and frequently use that is easy to pay off. For example, use your credit card for only buying gas or a repeating subscription bill. You never want to miss paying your credit card bill, or you will be charged interest, which will increase the amount of money you owe and decrease your credit score, which you need to buy almost anything in the future. When you have a high credit score, you'll have more access to buying and loaning different items like being able to lease a new car, buy a house, be able to apply for large loans, and much more. Establishing your credit at an early age will significantly help you in the future when making more significant purchases. Even after four years of establishing my credit, I had a high credit score at a young age and was able to lease my first vehicle in my name. Thanks to that presentation about how credit cards work and establishing credit, I can have multiple items in my name.

1. This scholarship is for my future wife, the wedding is next year, and it will be at the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park. We still need to prepare for it. She hasn't even picked out a dress and heels along with what kind of cake we want and meals to serve. Sure it's next year but time will go by fast, and I can't prepare for the wedding myself! 2. All I know is McDonald's, charge my phone, twerk, be lesbian, eat hot chip, and lie. Yet, I have a bright and productive future to become the best woman in the world born after 1993. 3. Whenever I'm feeling down, I like to have a specific meal that cheers me up. So I eat a toasted plain bagel with cream cheese and honey on top with an ice-cold AriZona RX Energy Herbal Tonic tea. If I'm feeling extra down, I add a Little Debbie Cosmic Brownie to the meal for the extra sugar. It's a meal that helps me overcome any obstacle.

My favorite piece of art I have created was a photograph with ink writing of my brother’s chest showing his scars from previous surgeries. Initially, this artwork was created for my studio concept class at my university. The assignment was to create a piece with the concept of language, specifically storytelling, through literal metaphor. At first, I was unsure of what to make for this concept, but I was inspired thanks to a helpful discussion in class. My classmates discussed how markings on someone’s body can tell a story, such as tattoos, birthmarks, scars, etc. This discussion immediately reminded me of my older brother, who was born with heart complications and has had numerous surgeries leaving behind many scars on his chest and stomach. I genuinely fancied this concept of markings on people having a story behind them. Especially with my brother, I feel that he has a unique story behind his surgeries and scars. For this class, we were allowed to use any media and materials with no restrictions and decided to use photography. I took my brother outside using the natural light and took a large number of pictures of his chest and scars. I did not include his face in the shots because I wanted to make his chest and stomach the main subject and respect my brother’s privacy for not revealing his face. After looking through my photographs, I chose the best picture and created an 18” x 24” print of the photo, which is about the size of a poster. After printing, I used a black pen to inscribe which surgeries caused his scars and the surgery date. The procedures written on this chest and stomach are the following: Ventricular septal defect, atrial septal defect, and transposition of the great arteries (1998), cardiac pacemaker (1998), chest tube (1998, written 6 times), gastric tube (1999), chest tube (2000, written 2 times), cardiac pacemaker (2000), chest tube (2016), and cardiac pacemaker replacement (2008, 2016). I titled the piece “Cooper’s Scars,” and now it has a black frame. Through this piece, I was able to communicate my brother’s story and what he has been through since his birth. I was always involved with my brother’s health and attended almost all his surgeries, doctor appointments, pacemaker checkups, and heart/pulse scans. Yet, regardless of his health throughout life, my brother has always been strong with a positive attitude. I hope this piece reflects and impacts others, that viewers admire my brother’s strength, bravery, and positive attitude while being a man who has been through so much. My brother deserves to have his story shared and told to not only my studio concept class but hopefully the world.

I want to continue attending university full-time while achieving my academic goals and career goals. I want to be able to stay at my university and stay involved with my school campus. I considerably wish to expand my knowledge and skills in college to benefit my career goals as a graphic designer in the future. There are a vast amount of skills for a graphic designer to learn to be successful. It's said that graphic designers are the jack of all trades, and I desire to be just like that. I want to improve my portfolio and get a full-time job working in the design field. In the end, I want to become a graphic designer for a well-known company and potentially become their art director with complete creative control of how the company presents itself and makes other people feel. I desperately need the assistance, but with this scholarship, I would be able to remain in college to finish my degree in graphic design, continue being involved on campus, and find a full-time graphic design job. This scholarship would lift a large amount of financial stress from my shoulders, and I can significantly focus on improving my skills as a graphic design student. Aid from this scholarship would be greatly appreciated and help me considerably in continuing my education.

UNIVERSITY by "badascass" 1. Wake Up Mr. West by Kayne West 2. Normal Girl by SZA 3. Bout Me by Coi Leray 4. Dogs Don't Lie by IDK 5. TALES OF DOMINCA by Lil Nas X 6. NEON PEACH (feat. Tyler, the Creator) by Snoh Aalegra 7. Culture (feat. Teedra Moses) by KAYTRANADA Playlist Link (Apple Music): https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/university/pl.u-kv9lbxVtLo7Kqa

Friendship means having someone you can trust and be yourself around them. To be honest, I don't have a lot of friends or am the "popular" sort. I'd rather have a few close friends who are trustworthy and loyal than a large group of acquaintances—having a close circle of friends can guarantee deep connections with those people. I want to be around individuals that share my values and are supportive but honest with me about my decisions. People who will be there for me in a heartbeat when I'm at my lowest. Someone who will not judge me for who I am and who will keep an open mind. And I'll treat them the same exact way because they're a genuine and trustworthy friend to me. For me, the most significant factor in a friendship is trust, someone I can rely on either if we're hanging out just walking around in a grocery store or a problematic situation when my home life is tough.

This semester a majority of my classes are related to my major, graphic design. However, I wanted to give myself a place to get inspiration when creating my own design work. So, I started a Pinterest board related to things I'll be designing in class or make in the future. When looking for inspiration, I always need visuals, and this design Pinterest board is the place for that.

"Your mom having a disability, it's your new normal, and it's other people that need to get over that, not you." This is a quote from me. For context, I talked to a friend whose mother has a disability due to a horrible car accident. People around her stare, judge, and make fun of her mother, making her feel terrible. She was having a hard time adjusting to her mom being like this, and she came to vent about her feelings. I also have a family member with disabilities, my brother, so I understand her struggles and how she feels. My friend asked how she's supposed to get over people mocking her mother and how her whole life changed due to this accident. I told her that I can't answer that since my brother has been the way he is since I was born, he's just normal to me. Other people have to get over what happened and how my brother and her mom are, not us, not me or you. Her mother's disability is her new normal, and people around her just have to accept and get over the way she is now. This moment and the quote I said is special to me because people with disabilities shouldn't be oppressed, judged, mocked, or stared at due to simply existing. If someone is ticked off or embarrassed to be around a person due to something they can't help or control, that someone needs to get over it and accept that having a disability is simply normal.

An art piece that I am proud of and that demonstrates my artistic vision the most is a piece called "Cooper's Scars." The concept of language, specifically storytelling through literal metaphor. I was inspired by a zoom call with my classmates. We were discussing how markings on someone's body can tell a story. This reminded me of my older brother; he was born with heart complications and has had numerous surgeries leaving behind many scars. I desired to photograph my brother's chest and made an 18" x 24" print. He has scars mainly on his chest and stomach. After printing, I used a black pen and inscribed which surgeries caused his scars and the surgery date. I genuinely fancied the idea of markings on people having a story behind them. Especially with my brother, I feel that he has a unique story behind his surgeries and scars. Through the piece I created, I was ecstatic to communicate my brother's story and what he's been through since his birth. I have always been involved with my brother's health, attending almost all his surgeries, doctor appointments, pacemaker checkups, and scans. I have always admired my brother's strength and positive attitude regardless of his health throughout his life. I think my brother is a brave man who has been through a lot and deserves to have his story told. In the future, I want to continue creating pieces involving my brother. I want to not only share his story but make pieces for people who can relate to my brother's experiences. When people view my work, I want to share a story with them and see my brother for who he is, how he looks, and what he's been through.

The best financial advice I received was getting a credit card and knowing how to build good credit. When I was attending my college's freshmen orientation, there was a presentation about considering getting a credit card. After learning about credit cards, I knew I had to get one to have a successful future after college. It's good to find the first credit card that won't charge you right away in fees and preferably a credit card made for people or college students who are beginners with owning a credit card. When shopping with your credit card, it's better to use it on something you buy and frequently use that is easy to pay off. For example, use your credit card for only buying gas or a repeating subscription bill. You never want to miss paying your credit card bill, or you will be charged interest, which will increase the amount of money you owe and decrease your credit score, which you need to buy almost anything in the future. When you have a high credit score, you'll have more access to buying and loaning different items like being able to lease a new car, buy a house, be able to apply for large loans, and much more. Establishing your credit at an early age will significantly help you in the future when making more significant purchases. Even after four years of establishing my credit, I had a high credit score at a young age and was able to lease my first vehicle in my name. Thanks to that presentation about how credit cards work and establishing credit, I can have multiple items in my name.

With my current living situation in a toxic family environment, mental health issues, and previous unemployment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it's challenging to get financial support. I am responsible for finding ways to pay for my education and basic needs. At the moment, I currently have two jobs: a part-time with a work-study internship through my university and another at an art workshop. I work as a graphic designer and an assistant art instructor currently earn the minimum wage in the state of Michigan, which is ten dollars per hour. I cannot pay for college alone. I desperately need scholarships and grants to be able to continue my education in the graphic arts. Although with these financial burdens and challenges in my past and current time, I strive to push myself forward. I want to continue attending university full-time while achieving my academic goals and career goals. I want to be able to stay at my university and stay involved with my school campus. I considerably want to expand my knowledge and skills in college that will benefit my career goals as a graphic designer in the future. I want to improve my portfolio and get a full-time job working in the design field. With the assistance of scholarships and grants, I would be able to remain in college to finish my degree in graphic design, continue being involved on campus, and find a full-time graphic design job. Any amount of aid from this scholarship would be greatly appreciated and help me significantly in continuing my education.

Art has always been a massive part of my life. I started with sketching and drawing, which I’ve done since I was a little girl. From that point, I continued to draw, always practicing and even developed my art style. Considering myself a self-taught artist traditionally and digitally as of now and for the rest of my life. But drawing wasn’t the only art form that I’ve learned; I also had an interest in music. Starting in elementary school, my fifth-grade class had the opportunity to join band class. I started my first year playing the trumpet but immediately switched to euphonium my second year, a semi-rare instrument in the musician world that looks like a small tuba. I continued to play the euphonium throughout middle and high school. I was the first chair throughout my school career and had the opportunity to join my high school marching band and symphony band. Being a squad and section leader of the euphoniums helped me develop my confidence and my leadership skills. Soon my interest shifted from music in band to a graphic design class in high school. I was drawn to taking the graphic design class because I wanted to try and learn something different from drawing on only paper. After completing a few projects, I instantly fell in love with the course. The fact that I could make almost anything in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator programs was terrific to me. While taking this class, my drawing skills came in handy, sketching out what I wanted to make first then transferring it to my computer screen. It was a fantastic experience to use my current skills and apply them to something new art-related. After completing the class, the teacher significantly suggested that I join the high school yearbook team after seeing my skills in graphic design. So I accepted the offer and began working with the team. I created titles for pages and included my ideas for the team to use. I even had the opportunity to work on my page in the yearbook. Arranging a layout, including my work onto the page, writing out descriptions and captions were exciting and fun to me. I gained a lot of experience and knowledge from working with the yearbook team, which greatly inspired me to go to college and study graphic design. I want to show the world what I can create, see my artwork on billboards, online, and everywhere else around the country, even the world, to express and show my creativity to inspire others to be creative.

My best friend Hannah and I went on our first road trip together; one of our stops was the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids in 2019. In the picture, the sculpture behind us was called "Neuron," made by contemporary artist Roxy Paine. We both posed like neurons! This sculpture overall considerably brings us together since Hannah is into science while I'm into art.

Charles McGee, an American artist, and educator known for his drawings, assemblages, and sculptures, is my favorite artist. The Detroit Institute of Arts and the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History also have his work in their collections and many large-scale public works projects in Detroit. One of my favorite sculptures he created was in front of the Charles H. Wright Museum called "United We Stand," representing diversity and togetherness, which I saw in person.

Since my childhood, it was hard to love myself. I was insecure about what I liked, how I looked, and how I acted. I came from a family where I was picked on and judged. My father commented on my physical appearance, saying I was either fat, ugly, gross, or a combination of all three. My mother also commented on my physical appearance, told me I was too thin, and disliked how my hair naturally looked. She also called me disgusting for coming out as a bisexual in high school and a lesbian later in college. Throughout middle school and some parts of high school, I was treated differently from classmates for liking video games instead of makeup or dressing up. Due to the past of being judged, bullied, and picked on, I remember greatly hating myself. I used to be very reserved, avoided expressing myself and talking, especially around other people. I remember wanting to change my appearance and the clothes I wore. I thought I was always ugly and felt out of place around people. While alone, though, I could be myself without any judgment and was happy. I wanted to continue being pleased with myself; I was sick of others comparing me to everyone else. I started a slow journey by loving myself, which first involved not comparing myself to other people—embracing that I didn't have to be like people around me and only be myself. Even if I was different from another view, I had to accept being different positively; if anything, it's good to stand out from a crowd. Now that I'm older and in college searching for internships and future jobs, it's advantageous to stand out from other people for recruiters and employers to hire me. It was essential to be comfortable with what I liked to do and how I acted, but another significant step in loving myself was being confident with my looks. It was the most challenging to overcome hating my looks, primarily since hate on my looks originated from my parents. For a long time, I felt I looked horrible and never had confidence in my physical image. I remember my weight shifting from my parents telling me I was too fat or too thin. What assisted me the most in loving my looks and body was dressing up. I liked shopping for clothes and creating outfits. No matter the occasion, I loved to wear clothes that made me feel beautiful. I always felt like a model on a runway when wearing an outfit that I immensely enjoyed. Dressing up helped my confidence in my body image and helped me learn how to perceive other people. I promised myself never to judge someone based on appearance; it can significantly impact how someone views themselves. I always do my best to compliment people and help people love themselves. It helps create and build better relationships with other people.

My name is Cassandra, my pronouns are she/her, my race is biracial, and I'm a lesbian. As a first-generation university student who strives to attend full-time, the bulk of my earnings are used to fund my education and meet my basic needs. I’m a junior graphic design student at Eastern Michigan University who’s involved in on-campus organizations such as Eastern Michigan University Edge Program. As a graphic designer, I’ve had the privilege to intern and work with Sigma Nu Phi Sorority, Riverside Arts Center, and now the American Society of Adaptation Professionals. Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, my family of a single mother and my brother with autism, who requires very substantial support, they cannot wholly support my financial needs. My father is entirely absent and not involved or contributing to family needs. Therefore, I am responsible for finding ways to pay for my education and basic needs. At the moment, I am only able to work part-time with a work-study internship through my university. I work as a graphic designer and currently earn the minimum wage in the state of Michigan, which is ten dollars per hour. Although with these financial burdens and challenges, I considerably want to expand my knowledge and skills in college that will benefit my career goals as a graphic designer in the future. I want to improve my portfolio and get a full-time job working in the design field. I want to become a lead graphic designer or a creative director for organizations that focus on benefitting and helping people's lives. From the experience that I have gained working for nonprofit organizations near my school, they need assistance in making their organization stand out. They want more people to be involved and active with their organization with events, resources and have ways for their community to connect. I have fun creating and designing content that benefits the look and message of an organization. I want to continue my path in the design field and continue my education learning about art and design to better my practice. The aid from this scholarship would be greatly appreciated and help me significantly in continuing my education and career as a designer for my community.

I made this meme. I have saved the original image from an art history class. The piece called "Dog Wearing a Mask" from Colima in West Mexico made from earthenware. I thought it was interesting when I first saw and learned about this work. The main point that really caught my attention is the Aztecs identified dogs with humans. So to make that connection, the dog is politely asking to be taken outside. Overall I thought it was funny and wasn't afraid to show it to other friends of mine interested in art history.